Can Political Media Cover the Negative Effects of Biden’s Age Without Being Ageist?

President Joe Biden will announce plans to run for re-election in 2024, according to multiple reports that he will formally announce his candidacy as early as tomorrow, Tuesday.

At 80 years old, Biden is not only the oldest serving president in US history, but if re-elected, he would take his second oath of the highest office at 82 and finish his second term at 86. Moreover, he seems notably less spry than the Biden the nation saw serving as a senator or vice president under Barack Obama.

Yes, age brings wisdom and insight, but it also slows the faculties, which is demonstrated by video clips comparing Vice President Biden to President Biden. The difference is pretty jarring. And unlike other issues that hurt younger candidates, this will not improve with time. And it’s no small problem: this is the presidency we’re discussing.

So it is entirely reasonable — urgent, even — for the press to cover Biden’s elder statesmanship. The question before us, and one that will challenge our reporting over the next few years, is how to do so honestly, fairly, and without facing blowback for ageism.

The question of a sitting president’s age has come up before.

The last oldest president to serve, Ronald Reagan, clearly lost a step or two during his time in office, but that didn’t become readily apparent until the final two years of his second term. It was something liberal commentators delighted in mocking. I recall seeing a musical comedy Rap Master Ronnie in the late 80s, written by Doonesbury cartoonist Gary Trudeau, which was entirely designed to make fun of Reagan’s age (and conservative policies) for comedic gain.

John McCain was questioned on the same grounds. Hillary Clinton appeared to faint at a campaign appearance just before the 2016 election. Running for president comes with extraordinary scrutiny; fitness for office is essential to one’s qualifications.

Criticism of Biden on these grounds tends to fall along partisan lines. Tune into Fox News; one of the most consistent messages you will see is a mockery of Biden’s mental faculties. Sean Hannity derisively calls the sitting president “Sippy Cup.” That’s just one example of a well-entrenched narrative from conservative media.

Now this isn’t all bad for the sitting president. The nonstop labeling of Biden as not being “all there” by right-wing media might even help him politically: when the media paint him as a bumbling moron, anything gaffe-free feels impressive. There is also the stunning incongruence of how some paint Biden as being dimwitted and a puppet to his aides but also? He’s a criminal syndicate mastermind who’s made millions from China!

While Biden is currently in the hot seat on Fox, mockery of this flavor is certainly not unique to conservatives. Throughout the Trump administration, hosts and pundits on MSNBC and CNN regularly and giddily questioned the alleged mental deterioration of former President Donald Trump. Montages of Trump misspeaking or slurring words were pervasive.

His age was a common topic of punditry, with Americans regularly reminded that Trump was the oldest president ever to serve. They mocked his gingerly walking down a ramp and focused entire news cycles on his physical fitness tests, not just his mental ones.

Indeed, ridiculing a president’s gaffes is a habit with no partisan persuasion.

President Biden IS a gaffe machine. His closing speech on a diplomatic trip to Ireland curiously ended with a charge to “lick the world,” which maybe was intended elocution, but Im not sure that’s a better explanation. We’ve all seen footage of the president stumbling verbally and physically. But one of his most relatable traits is that he is far too human and prone to the same missteps and foibles we all do. All I can say is this: Thank God there aren’t cameras trained on my actions 24-7.

But this column is not about banging on about Biden’s blunders. He has long spoken candidly about his history of stuttering, something he worked hard to overcome in his youth, and some of those issues appear to have somewhat returned with age. He also walks far more stiffly than before and occasionally seems to have trouble hearing questions shouted at him, though perhaps that’s by design.

But who among us isn’t also dealing with the ravages of aging and doesn’t suffer the same? The difference, of course, is that we aren’t running for a second term as president.

This is why reporting on Biden’s age is not just fair game. It should be a central part of political discourse. It’s not ableism to question someone’s fitness to serve as the leader of the free world. It’s not ageist to question how one’s age plays into their ability to perform the duties of commander-in-chief.

Hard not to think about NBC’s Dasha Burns, who after getting the first interview with then-candidate John Fetterman, received tons of negative feedback for being an “ableist” because she had the audacity to fairly report that he was still suffering from the ill effects of a stroke. That was an absurd criticism of Burns, and to do the same on reporters covering Biden’s mental fitness is likely also on the horizon.

So how does the media thread this needle? How can one cover Biden’s age without coming off as a jerk and not making excuses for fear of offending people who seem eager to find offense?  Effectively covering this imperative angle of national importance, however, is all in the nuance. The trick is not to be cruel in treating the elderly, regardless of party.

Really, it’s about compassion. We are all getting older. Mocking Biden as “Sippy Cup” isn’t a commentary of service — it’s just making fun of an old person. Fearless but responsible discussion about what Biden’s age means for his ability to perform the president’s job is vital.

And unlike other issues of experience that younger and newly elected candidates face? This one will not improve with time.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.