Before Joe Biden, the oldest president in the White House was Ronald Regan at 77 years, 349 days. Biden was older than that before his first term even started. If he wins re-election in 2024 against fellow senior citizen Donald Trump, he’ll be 86 years old by the end of his second term.
The president’s aides are working hard at convincing the American public that it’s perfectly normal for someone who was born the same year that duct tape was invented to have the most stressful job in the world.
NBC News reports that in “a preview of what voters will see more of if Biden wins re-election and serves into his mid-80s, the White House seems to be making concessions to his age. An iconic image of the modern presidency is the chief executive walking up the stairs to a majestic Air Force One, then turning at the doorway and waving. More and more, Biden is forgoing the long staircase for the shorter stairway that takes him up through the plane’s belly.”
Biden’s use of the shorter staircase, which, of course, reduces the risk of a televised fall that goes viral, has more than doubled since Biden’s tumble at the commencement ceremony, according to an analysis by NBC News. In the weeks prior to tripping onstage, Biden used the shorter set of stairs to get on and off the presidential aircraft 37 percent of the time. In the past seven weeks he’s used them 84 percent of the time, or 31 out of the 37 times he’s gotten on and off the plane.
Biden has also started skipping “nighttime socializing,” and the font on his teleprompter for speeches has gotten larger. A former White House official told NBC News that “Biden’s political operation has strategized about the best ways to deflect that line of attack,” referring to Trump posting a video mocking the president for falling off his bike, including “the idea of throwing a big 80th birthday bash last November to show he was openly embracing the milestone rather than shying away from it.” Instead, Biden ate ice cream with his family.
Not going out at night and eating ice cream instead of partying? Biden has never been more relatable.
(Via NBC News)