President Joe Biden turned 80 last week. When asked about it beforehand, he said, “I can’t say the age I’m going to be. I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”
I’m not near 80, but I’m old enough to relate to the president’s sentiment. It’s a weird phenomenon, how our bodies keep changing and our brains (and eyes) are always surprised by it. How the hell did I get wrinkles on my knees, for instance? Jaysus.
The president’s comment brought to mind a conversation I had with my paternal grandmother when I was a considerably younger man. We were having breakfast at her house, when, apropos of nothing, she said, incredulously: “Eighty! Sometimes I think, how can I be 80? I don’t feel any different than I ever did.” She was a woman with a flair for the dramatic, including sighing at some point during each holiday season: “This will probably be my last Christmas.” It usually wasn’t. Until it was. Anyway, for some reason, that conversation has stayed with me through the years, and I get it now, Velma.
Age is front of mind nationally these days because it’s possible — though I don’t think Trump will make it through the gauntlet of indictments awaiting him — that the 2024 presidential campaign could feature an 82-year-old Biden against a 78-year-old Trump. Boy, that’ll stimulate the youth vote!
In 2016, Trump, at 70, was the oldest president ever elected, until Biden set the new age mark of 78, in 2020. By way of comparison, Ronald Reagan, who was 69 when elected in 1980 and addled by dementia by the time he left office eight years later, was previously the oldest elected president and the oldest to ever hold the office. The only reason Biden gets asked about whether he’ll run for re-election is because of his age. Is it a fair question?
Consider this list: Paul McCartney, Judi Dench, Morgan Freeman, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Pope Francis, Nancy Pelosi, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Bernie Sanders, Anthony Fauci, Ralph Lauren, Martha Stewart, Quincy Jones, George Takei, Al Pacino, and last but not least, at 89, Willie Nelson. All are in their 80s, and all are still working and productive. I could have added dozens more, including many non-celebrities I know personally. But, with the possible exceptions of Bernie, Nancy, and Morgan Freeman (who, after all, has played POTUS three times), none are likely qualified to handle the rigors of the highest office in the land.
Neither is Trump, for that matter. In fact, given the choice, I’d prefer almost anybody on that list above, but that’s another story.
On the occasion of Biden’s birthday, The New York Times published a piece that looked at his health prospects, were he to win in 2024, citing 10 experts on aging: “Mr. Biden, these experts agreed, has a lot going in his favor: He is highly educated, has plenty of social interaction, a stimulating job that requires a lot of thinking, is married, and has a strong family network — all factors that, studies show, are protective against dementia and conducive to healthy aging. He does not smoke or drink alcohol and, according to the White House, he exercises five times a week. He also has top-notch medical care.”
The article also stated: “It is true that older people tend to decline physically, and the brain also undergoes changes. But in people who are active, experts say, the brain continues to evolve and some brain functions can even improve — a phenomenon experts call the ‘neuroplasticity of aging.’”
The conclusion was that Biden’s odds of getting dementia before leaving office in 2028 were about one in 10. By contrast, the public has never gotten a health report from any of Trump’s doctors that Trump didn’t edit, so that’s sort of a crap shoot.
But 2024 is still a ways off, and anything that happens in the next 18 months — from a health crisis for either man to an indictment for Trump — could alter the course of history. I hope both men stay healthy, but I can’t help but think that it’s well past time to turn the page on geriatric candidates for both parties. Unless maybe Willie Nelson is interested.
