Joe Biden’s recent halting debate against a blustering rival caused panic in some quarters. But does it mean he should throw in the re-election towel?
When President Joe Biden’s extended family descended recently on Camp David, the rustic presidential retreat in the Maryland hills not far from Washington DC, it wasn’t just to go horse riding or shoot some hoops. Sure, they’d planned to do all sorts of fun stuff. The place was built for it. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman had called it Shangri-la. There are golf carts to scoot between cabins and lodges. There’s a single-hole golf range. Skeet shooting. A pool. A cinema. A bowling alley.
Business is quiet at a bar in California as the first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump is televised on June 27.Many excuses were made. Biden had had a cold. He sometimes stuttered – but everybody knows he has long had a stutter. His makeup had washed him out. He later said he was jet-lagged and had almost fallen asleep on stage, which did not necessarily help his cause.
‘I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.’US presidents are typically much younger than their Russian counterparts. JFK was sworn in at 43, Bill Clinton at 46. Ronald Reagan is currently the record holder for the oldest president at the end of their last term, at 77, though a re-elected Joe Biden will eclipse him, as would Donald Trump, now 78.
Some places do, or almost. In 2019, Finland’s Sanna Marin became the world’s youngest serving prime minister at 34. And while not, technically, a world leader Gabriel Attal, France’s prime minister, is 35 while the current leading aspirant for his job, Jordan Bardella, is 28. They are also more prone to frailty – being weak, delicate and at risk of falls and hospital admission. This is not only a possible indication of mental decline and a risk to overall well-being but, in a public figure, also an image problem. “Anyone can see that Biden is looking more frail, everyone talks about his stumbling on words and forgetting things,” says Brodaty. “That may be an indication of cognitive decline, but he may still have wisdom ...
In the days that followed the Camp David family huddle, Biden sought to assuage doubt, even as polls showed him slipping behind Trump. “No one’s pushing me out,” he reportedly told campaign staff in a call. “I’m not leaving.” He said he had been medically examined and found fit but was going to limit engagements after 8pm. “I had a bad night,”of the debate debacle. “And the fact of the matter is, I screwed up, I made a mistake.
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