The oldest president in US history is running for a second term. He will be 81 at the time of the election in a year and a half.
US President Joe Biden has dismissed doubts that he is unfit for another term because of his age. “I gained a lot of wisdom. I know more than the vast majority of people,” said the 80-year-old in an interview with MSNBC television on Friday night (local time). Biden entered the White House in 2021 as the oldest president ever.
At the end of April, the democrat announced that he wanted to run for a second term in the presidential elections next year. When elected in a year and a half, Biden will be 81 years old, at the end of a possible second term he will be 86. “I have more experience than anyone who has ever run for this office. I have proven that I am honorable and effective,” Biden said.
The grandfather of seven has been in the political business for decades. He sat in the Senate for over 35 years. From 2009 to 2017 he was Vice President of the United States, Barack Obama, before four years later he himself ascended to the highest office in the United States.
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Biden announces press conference that does not exist
Biden’s age and suitability to run again for president has long been the subject of debate, including within his own party. The Democrat regularly invites ridicule with slips of the tongue. It was only on Friday that Biden was mistreated because he announced a “big press conference” during an afternoon White House appearance and thus caused confusion. Nothing was known of a press conference by the President, nor did it happen. US media, quoting the White House, reported that Biden referred to the MSNBC interview recording when he made his announcement – and phrased it as almost incorrectly. Political competition regularly uses small mistakes like this to question Biden’s mental aptitude.
Former President Donald Trump is running again as a candidate for the Republicans, against whom Biden had already run in his 2020 election campaign. Biden defeated the Republican incumbent at the time. Without naming Trump, Biden said, “We cannot allow the same man who was president four years ago to become president again in this election.” When asked what sets him apart from Trump, he replied, “Everything. Everything. Everything.”
No competition for Biden – among Democrats
A wide field of candidates is expected for the Republicans. In the case of the Democrats, on the other hand, Biden, as an incumbent, is unlikely to have any serious competition. To actually run as his party’s official candidate, Biden needs to be confirmed in the party’s internal primaries.
Biden has already committed to getting back into the running with his vice president, US Vice President Kamala Harris. However, Harris has remained pale over the past two years, has had to struggle with image issues, and has barely scored politically. On the campaign trail, Biden’s team should also be interested in polishing its external image. The first Biden campaign video, with which the Democrat divulged his re-election ambitions, already offered a sample of this: Harris gained a lot of space in it. When asked about this, Biden said in the MSNBC interview, “I just think that Vice President Harris didn’t get the recognition she deserved.” She was “really really, really good” and didn’t get the attention she deserved.
(APA/dpa)