President Joe Biden has shrugged off concerns about his age for re-election and said he’s still “effective.”
“I have acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom and know more than the vast majority of people. And I’m more experienced than anybody that’s ever run for the office. And I think I’ve proven myself to be honorable as well as also effective,” he said.
The 80-year-old was responding to a question from MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle during an interview on Friday.
Ruhle questioned Biden on why he—at 82-years-old in 2024—would be the right person for the most important job in the world.
Biden formally announced his reelection campaign on April 25 and the next day, dodged a question from the media about his age.
“I can’t even guess how old I am,” he said during a press conference with South Korea’s president. “I can’t even say the number, it doesn’t register with me. The only thing I can say is they’re going to see a race and they’re going to judge whether I have or don’t have it.”
Though Biden keeps playing down his age, the public is apparently concerned about it.
Various polls show the majority of the public think Biden is too old to run for reelection. According to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll in March, almost seven in ten registered voters, 68 percent, say Biden is “too old for another term.”
Haley Suggests Biden Won’t Finish 2nd Term
Nikki Haley, a GOP presidential contender, suggested that Biden would not be able to finish his second term even if he won the reelection.
People who vote for Biden actually vote for his vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, she said.
“I think that we can all be very clear and say, with a matter of fact, that if you vote for Joe Biden, you really are counting on a President Harris, because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely,” Haley, 51, told Fox News during an interview days after Biden’s reelection announcement.
Biden’s gaffes frequently make headlines.
On Friday, he told reporters he would have a “major press conference” in the afternoon. However, the White House later had to clarify that the president misspoke and was referring to a pre-scheduled interview that was scheduled to air at 10 p.m. ET that evening.
Former President Donald Trump, who will likely become the Republican presidential candidate in 2024 and have a rematch with Biden, would be 78 years old as of the next general election.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
