Democrat Governor Defends Biden Running for President at 81 By Noting His Own 88-Year-Old Mother Still Drives

Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz dismissed voter concerns about President Joe Biden’s age when asked about it on Meet The Press by claiming it’s “ageism” and arguing his mother is in Biden’s age group and she still “drives herself.”

“Folks are able to do this,” he said.

Walz joined NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday for the latest Meet The Press on NBC amid the bitter winter storm gripping the midwest and northeast on the eve of the Iowa Caucus, the first big test for Republicans opposing Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.

Welker asked Walz about challenges facing Biden in the 2024 election, including the fact that voters routinely list questions about the 81-year-old president’s competence and health. “What does the campaign need to do to address this issue?” Welker asked.

Walz said in his first response that there’s “something to be said about age and wisdom” and argued that Biden delivered an Infrastructure Act, and said that when it’s a binary choice between Biden or Trump the age thing is “overweighed.”

Welker again asked about the campaign handling the concerns of voters, and Walz dismissed those concerns a second time.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with the president and he’s great. We were talking, were chatting and all this. And I think, you know, we all get a little older. That’s what happens. But you also gain that insight,” he said.

“Look, my mom’s 88, still living on the farm, drives herself. Um, folks are able to do this,” he said. “So I think this little bit of ageism that goes to this — if it’s not, that would be something else.”

WELKER: One of the big issues is his age. You’ve been an outspoken defender on this issue. This week, the First Lady went so far as to say it’s an “asset,” but voters aren’t buying that. What does the campaign need to do to address this issue?

WALZ: Well, first, there is something to be said about age and wisdom, and I think results matter. Look, I served in Congress for years and watched Infrastructure Week come and go. I watched Joe Biden deliver on a historic Infrastructure Act, that’s building roads and bridges across Minnesota, Iowa, and the rest of the country. And I think it’s, as you start to see here, where the choice becomes the binary choice between Donald Trump and disdain for the rule of law and Joe Biden competency in getting things done that overweighs that well.

WELKER: But I guess the question is, is the campaign taking this issue seriously enough? Do they need to do more?

WALZ: Well, I think they are. They’ve got us out here talking about it. And I’ve spent a lot of time with the president and he’s great. We were talking, were chatting and all this. And I think, you know, we all get a little older. That’s what happens. But you also gain that insight. And I think when it comes to these issues working across the aisle to get things done, you see the president just doing this with dignity, doing it with class, getting up every day, doing the work. So I think he’s just doing what he does. And I think it’s kind of incumbent upon all of us — look, my mom’s 88, still living on the farm, drives herself. Um, folks are able to do this. So I think this little bit of ageism that goes to this — if it’s not, that would be something else. They attack all of us on something. This is part of it.

According to a new ABC poll out Sunday, just 28 percent of Americans believe Biden has the “mental sharpness” to be president.

Watch the clip above via NBC News.