Election 2020: At Age 76, Is Joe Biden Too Old To Be President?

Even former vice president Joe Biden admits his age is a legitimate topic for debate.

"I think age is a totally legitimate thing to raise," said Biden back in October 2018. "I think it's totally appropriate for people to look at me and say if I were to run for office again, 'Well God darn you're old.' Well, chronologically I am old."

Chronologically, Biden’s now 76. His middling performance in the first CNN presidential debate in June where he appeared shaky, unprepared and confused again led his critics among the Democrats to question if his advanced age is badly affecting his mental acuity, as well.

Biden hoped to eliminate that negative notion in CNN’s Debate Night 2 Wednesday evening. He appears to have somewhat dispelled the notion this old man is, well, old. He seemed more focused and energetic, even feisty. But he’ll still be 78 years old when, and if, he’s sworn in as the 46th U.S. president in January 2021.

President Joe Biden will be the oldest first-term president in American history. He’ll be eight years older than the current record-holding oldest president, Donald Trump, who was 70 when he was elected in 2016.

On the plus side for the “uncle-in-chief” or “middle-class Joe” is that most Americans say a president’s age doesn’t matter to them. In a Gallup poll last May, six in 10 American voters said they’d be willing to vote for a candidate over 70 years old.

On the downside, the same poll revealed that out of the 12 character traits a president must have, a president over 70 years-old ranked third in terms of how it would negatively affect voters' decisions. Americans only disliked an atheist presidential candidate (60% would vote for) and a socialist candidate (47%) more.

But Biden’s friends and allies insist middle-class Joe is well and truly healthy, despite awkward signs to the contrary.

The New York Times wrote Biden and his advisers “are grappling with how to make sure he doesn't appear so shaky, cognizant that a repeat performance could do lasting damage to his campaign and erode his advantage in the polls.”

NYT was referring to the verbal thrashing Biden received at the hands of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) during the June debate. A Fox News poll last week showed Biden beating Trump by 10 points in a 2020 match-up.

“Several advisers emphasized that Mr. Biden is in excellent health, and said he will be more prepared to defend his record and more willing to draw contrasts with his opponents than he was at the June debate."