Former Obama adviser David Axelrod said President Joe Biden’s age would be a “major issue” if he were to win re-election in 2024.
“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,” Axelrod told the New York Times.
Axelrod spoke to the paper for a new report based on interviews with 50 Democratic officials who, according to the Times, are “venting their frustrations” about Biden, “increasingly viewing him as an anchor that should be cut loose in 2024.” Democrats are particularly concerned about the prospect of former President Donald Trump challenging Biden in 2024, according to the Times.
“Biden doesn’t get the credit he deserves for steering the country through the worst of the pandemic, passing historic legislation, pulling the NATO alliance together against Russian aggression and restoring decency and decorum to the White House,” Axelrod said. “And part of the reason he doesn’t is performative. He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of a camera as he once was, and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality.”
Axelrod was not alone in expressing concerns about Biden’s age. Per the Times:
To nearly all the Democrats interviewed, the president’s age — 79 now, 82 by the time the winner of the 2024 election is inaugurated — is a deep concern about his political viability. They have watched as a commander in chief who built a reputation for gaffes has repeatedly rattled global diplomacy with unexpected remarks that were later walked back by his White House staff, and as he has sat for fewer interviews than any of his recent predecessors.
Biden, who has said he plans to run in 2024, will be 81 years old by Election Day in 2024.
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