President Joe Biden toed the line on how his age is presenting a major roadblock to reelection and prompting broad concerns even among voters in his own party.
Already the oldest president in U.S. history, 80-year-old Biden would be 86 by the time he leaves office, if reelected, leading many Democratic voters to say he should step aside.
“They’re not right or wrong,” the president told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday. “Look, to use the phrase again, I think we’re at an inflection point. I think the world is changing. And I think there is one thing that comes with age, if you’re — been honest about it your whole life, and that is some wisdom.”
His sales pitch touched on another aspect identical to every incumbent president who has sought reelection: finishing the job they already started.
“I think we’re on the cusp of being able to make significant positive changes in the world,” Mr. Biden said. “I think we’re putting the world together in a way that is going to make things significantly, how can I say it, more secure for people. We’re uniting democracies — have the possibility of uniting democracies in a way that hadn’t happened ever.”
Large swaths of voters — including Democrats — in recent polls have expressed concern about his age and health, in addition to that of a potential Republican challenger who’s just three years younger at the age of 77: former President Donald Trump.
