President Joe Biden celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday, marking a significant milestone as he became the first octogenarian to serve as president in U.S. history.
The milestone birthday comes as speculation continues to swirl as to whether or not the president will seek re-election in 2024 amid concerns over his age and health.
In a press conference earlier this month, White House Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained that Biden was set to enjoy a brunch hosted by First Lady Jill Biden on his big day.
“Usually, they celebrate it on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but because everyone is going to—the family is going to be here this weekend, they’ll have an opportunity to celebrate his birthday on his actual day,” Jean-Pierre said when asked how Biden would be celebrating his birthday.
The first lady confirmed on Twitter on Sunday that Biden had enjoyed a “perfect birthday celebration filled with so much love” along with his “favorite coconut cake!” as he and his wife were joined by their family for brunch.
A perfect birthday celebration filled with so much love — and Joe’s favorite coconut cake! pic.twitter.com/w7005Cdtqu
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) November 20, 2022
‘When Will We Decide We’ve Had Enough?’
One day prior to his birthday, Biden attended the wedding of his granddaughter Naomi Biden and her husband, Peter Neal, on the White House South Lawn.
The wedding marked the 19th wedding in the history of the White House, the first White House wedding with a president’s granddaughter as the bride, and the first one ever to be held on the South Lawn.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Biden took a break from his birthday celebrations to deliver a statement after a gunman opened fire on a nightclub in Colorado, killing five people and injuring 18 others.
“Today, yet another community in America has been torn apart by gun violence. More families left with an empty chair at the table and hole in their lives that cannot be filled. When will we decide we’ve had enough? We must address the public health epidemic of gun violence in all of its forms,” Biden said in a statement from the White House, while touting recent gun safety legislation he signed into law earlier this year.
“We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off America’s streets,” he added.
Despite concerns over his age and health, Biden has insisted that he will run for re-election again, meaning that he would be 86 years old by the end of his second term in early 2029—if he were to win.
Plans to Run Again
Biden told CBS News in September that he intends to run again but had not yet made a formal decision.
He again reiterated his plans to run earlier this month, telling reporters at a news conference: “My intention is that I will run again. But I’m a great respecter of fate and this is ultimately a family decision. I think everybody wants me to run but we’re going to have discussions about it. And I don’t feel any hurry one way or the other to make that judgment.”
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that while 71 percent of Democrats think Biden is “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” 46 percent say he may not be up to the challenge of running in 2024.
In response to growing fears regarding his age and health, the president has acknowledged that his age is a “legitimate” concern among voters but has urged Americans to judge him instead by “watching” him during his time in office.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, 76, also recently announced his intention to run again in an effort to make the country “great and glorious again” as it struggles with soaring inflation and an increasing crisis at the southern border.
Biden’s birthday celebrations also come shortly after his octogenarian Democrat peer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced on Nov. 17 that she would step down from her congressional leadership role after Republicans won control of the House.
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Katabella Roberts is a news writer for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on the United States, world, and business news.
