Age, Health, and Stamina Questions for Biden and Trump
In the upcoming 2024 election, age is a hot topic as both candidates, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, are among the oldest to run for the presidency.
While many have debated Biden's fitness for office at 80 years old, at 77 years old, Trump is not far behind Biden in age and would be the oldest person to ever be inaugurated if he were to win the election. However, unlike Biden who has released annual health updates from his physician, Trump's campaign has been less transparent about his health.
According to Fox News, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' campaign has been targeting Trump's age to close the gap in polling for the GOP nomination.
Last week, DeSantis' campaign revealed a "Trump accident tracker" to document the former president's verbal mistakes on the campaign trail and question his fitness for office. In fact, DeSantis himself has even questioned Trump's stamina, a word that Trump has often used to attack his opponents in the past.
During his recent campaign events, Trump has made several gaffes and mistakes, such as confusing Jeb Bush with his brother George W. Bush and mixing up the names of former Presidents Obama and Clinton.
These slip-ups have not gone unnoticed, with DeSantis' campaign highlighting them as evidence of Trump's declining mental state and lack of fitness for the presidency.
Even Trump's last known doctor, White House physician Sean Conley, has not responded to inquiries about Trump's current health status. This is in stark contrast to Biden, whose White House has released regular updates from the president's physician. In fact, Trump's last known physician, Harold Bornstein, treated him from 1980 to 2017 and has since passed away in 2021.
It is also worth noting that Trump's health was not a major topic during his 2016 campaign, with only a brief doctor's note claiming he would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." This same physician, Harold Bornstein, treated Trump for nearly 40 years before his passing. In contrast, Biden's most recent physical examination in February showed he is 6 feet tall, weighs 178 pounds, and is in good health for his age.
However, despite his age and recent slip-ups on the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly tried to portray himself as athletic and vigorous, posting videos of himself golfing and taking a cognitive test to prove his mental soundness.
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But as the 2024 campaign heats up and the race becomes more competitive, the issue of age and health will continue to be a major factor for both candidates.
In the end, it will be up to the American people to decide whether they believe Biden and Trump, both in their 70s, are fit to hold the highest office in the land for another term. But one thing is clear, the age and health of these candidates will remain a key topic of discussion in the upcoming election.