Age old
In November 2016–my four-month-old son sleeping soundly—I settled in for another historic step toward the United States perfecting its union. After eight years of dignified and often inspiring leadership, Barack Obama was going to pass the presidential baton to Hillary Clinton, the first woman to lead the world’s most powerful country. Heck, Clinton’s team was so confident it was holding its election night celebration at New York City’s Javits Center, famed for its … glass ceiling.
It remained unbroken. Instead of skulking back to his life as a serially embarrassing pretend mogul, Donald Trump failed upward to become President of the United States of America. It took his capacity for shameless incompetence to a new level, and on election night my mum, visiting from Melbourne to see her first grandchild for the first time, looked like that ceiling had instead collapsed on her.
“At least,” I said as reality set in, “you get to leave the country tomorrow.”
We’re now almost exactly a year from the 2024 Presidential election. By any objective measure, the first three years of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.’s presidency have been among the most consequential in memory. Guiding the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic? Emerging from the subsequent economic downturn with what increasingly looks like a soft landing? Passing the American Rescue Plan and $1 trillion infrastructure bill? Inflation Reduction Act? CHIPS Act? Support for Ukraine? Reacting to the latest Middle East turmoil? Appointing a wave of new judges, including the first black woman to the Supreme Court? Done, done, done, done, done, done, done, and done. No wonder the media is brimming with optimism.
“A whispering campaign among panicking Democrats to force Joe Biden to stand down in favor of a younger 2024 nominee is reaching fever pitch,” the Daily Mail breathlessly “revealed” on September 28. “Behind the scenes there is widespread and growing alarm over the 80-year-old president's recent string of gaffes, and increasing frustration at his determination to stand for re-election.”
Oh, that’s right. Here’s a spoiler in case you missed it: Biden is old by presidential standards. He turns 81 on November 20 and, if re-elected, would be 86 by the end of his second term. While that may be sorta average by Washington, DC standards—on the Republican side, Chuck Grassley is 89 and Mitch McConnell 81; among Democrats, Congressional powerhouses Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi, and James Clyburn are 84, 83, and 83, respectively—it’s well past retirement age for the rest of us. And should an octogenarian really have to endure the incessant demands of being the world’s most powerful person?
A poll released on the same day as the Daily Mail piece found 52% of voters were “very concerned” about Biden’s cognitive health affecting his ability to serve another term. And there’s certainly collective wincing on the left-side of the political spectrum whenever Biden speaks, accompanied by that awful pit-of-the-stomach dread that he’s a single slip away from reality becoming far too close to perception.
But … but … how about the other guy?
“Joe Biden is getting older, we all know that,” Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha said. “But the other guy he’s probably going to be running against is getting older, too. And in the focus groups that I’m doing, old and steady still beats old and crazy.”
Crazy barely scratches the surface of what comes out of Trump’s mouth these days which, for those paying attention, is even worse than when he was in office (believe it or not). A day after the Daily Mail article, Trump took time out from disclosing classified information to Anthony Pratt to front the California GOP and—in no particular order—mocked a Republican who was assaulted and got badly injured, said “motherfucker,” claimed people in Ohio smell, advised California to “dampen your forests” to solve its wildfire problem, and promised to prosecute his political opponents. He also said shoplifters would be shot and joked about Pelosi’s husband being attacked. It was, I guess, an average Friday. Yet that poll that found a majority of voters worried about Biden’s cognitive state? Just 38 percent felt the same way about Trump.
Now, suggesting Biden’s age isn’t an issue ignores reality: A CNN poll recently found 73% of Americans—and 56% of Democrats—were worried about age affecting his physical and mental competence. For many, there remains a fantasy universe where Biden graciously declines to run for re-election, allowing a Gavin Newsom or Gretchen Whitmer or Michelle Obama or Oprah or some other fever dream candidate to lead the ticket.
Whether a leader superficially reflects the state of the nation they lead shouldn’t matter, but it does. And not all countries are as vain as the United States of America, which sees itself as perpetually young, Botox-ed within an inch of the nearest Kardashian.
Biden ain’t that. He’s vastly experienced and empathetic, but a gaffe prone 80-year-old who’s showing his age. Yet he’s also wise enough to surround himself with competent people and listen to (and follow!) their advice. Republicans may howl he’s a puppet president, but that was touted as a feature, not a bug, when Trump was elected: mainstream Republicans swore the Washington deep state would place guardrails around his excesses. Ha.
For its part, the White House likes to both declare Biden’s age isn’t an issue and that he will get credit for his achievements, despite irrefutable proof Democrats are completely and perpetually unable to craft compelling messaging. The first part is wrong but, in a sane universe, the second would see Biden re-elected in a landslide.
The problem? This isn’t a sane universe—it’s America. Perception has a strange way of shaping reality, especially when it’s fueled not only by right-wing outlets pushing a senility narrative, but a media establishment once again failing to pay attention. And while I’ll take advantage of my status as a new citizen to vote for the adult in the room, Democrats need to be careful in assuming the broader country will do the same.