OPINION: Joe Biden is Too Old to Be President

Joe Biden is too old to serve as President of the United States.

He would be the oldest President to be sworn in on Inauguration Day. By far. President Trump currently holds the record for the oldest President to be sworn in, entering office at the age of 70.

Biden would smash that record by almost a decade, assuming the presidency at the ripe age of 78 in the event of a November victory. He’s 77 right now and turns 78 in late November. President Trump is a full presidential term younger than Biden, and would stand to leave office in 2025 at roughly the approximate age that Joe Biden is now.

No President has even served in the office in their 80’s. Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan left office at the ages of 70 and 77 respectively, with the natural process of aging beginning to show itself at the end of the Gipper’s second term. American Presidents have generally left office in their early-to-mid 60’s or even fifties, a pattern that endures even into the late 20th century when advancements in medicine considerably increased the life expectancy of Americans.

Some commentators have lamented that the 2020 election is a final showdown between politicians of the Baby Boomer generation. But that analysis ignores that Joe Biden is actually too old to qualify as a Baby Boomer, having been born in 1942, making him a member of the Silent Generation.

The argument for Biden’s advanced age as a disqualifier stands independently of the former Vice President and career politician’s serious, enduring and consistent indications of cognitive decline. Even the healthiest of individuals in Biden’s age demographic are often and suddenly liable to health challenges, a burden that would be improper to place upon Biden and the American public.

Opposing Biden’s candidacy on the basis of his age is not a slight to senior Americans. Many Americans of his age demographic would admit their sharpest years are behind them. There’s a reason why tens of millions and Americans have saved and worked for decades for purposes of retirement in their elder years, and why American society is broadly supportive of Social Security benefits that enable our elders to enjoy the lifestyle they deserve in their 70’s and 80’s.

Joe Biden is too old to be President.