Over the past three decades, Americans have elected presidents who felt their pain and channeled their anger, who shattered historical barriers or seemed like pleasant beer-drinking companions.
But if voters often desire leaders who reflect themselves and their struggles, President Biden’s potential bid for a second term, which he would complete at age 86, evokes extremely complicated feelings among one deeply concerned constituency: his contemporaries.
Three years after older voters propelled Mr Biden to the Democratic presidential nomination, embracing his deep experience and perceived appeal in the general election, his greatest political liability is his age as he heads for another presidential run, which he could announce on Tuesday. . It is a source of mockery and sometimes misinformation on the right — though now-indicted Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential poll leader facing a morass of legal trouble, is only a few years his junior — and one of widespread fear among Democrats.
However, the issue is particularly personal to older voters who tend to like Mr. Biden but often view his age through the prism of their own experiences.
They age. He is aging. They are not the President of the United States.
In interviews with about three dozen voters, political veterans and prominent Americans between the ages of 67 and 98, broaching Mr Biden’s age led not only to electoral analysis, but also to extensive discussions about their own abilities and adjustments to their lives . Some bluntly wrestled with questions of mortality, and others went into grandparent mode, urging the president to take care of himself.
“I’m 72 and I’m a young drifter here in The Villages,” said Diane Foley, the president of The Villages Democratic Club at Florida’s Republican-tilted mega-retirement community, who encouraged Mr. Biden to run again. “There are incredibly energetic, active people well into their 80s and 90s.”
“One must know one’s limitations,” advised Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer, 94, the renowned sexologist. She is currently working on a project on the grandparent-grandchild relationship, but prefers to hold meetings from home.
“I would say the president should run again, but he shouldn’t run to a podium either,” she added. “I don’t want him to fall.”
And former Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York, who at age 92 has a dark sense of humor about his future — “at my age I’m not buying green bananas” — indicated he would support a Biden run. But he yearns for a new generation of leaders.
“Maybe I feel so strong because I’m leaving relatively soon and I want to see what’s next,” said Mr. Rangel in an interview. “I really believe we should have more candidates, more than two old white men.”
Party leaders overwhelmingly intend to support Mr Biden if he runs for office. But recent polls have shown that while many Democratic voters view him favorably, they also have reservations about another bid. An Associated Press/NORC poll released Friday found respondents concerned about his age.
Other surveys found that older Democratic voters were more likely to favor another Biden run than younger Democrats, even if about 30 to 50 percent of Democrats over 60 favored him stepping down.
“I can’t say on television, ‘Let’s not talk about this, let’s focus on the real issues,’ because people think age is a real issue,” said James Carville, 78, the Democratic strategist, last month.
It was top of mind for several people recently walking around a community center when a canasta game ended in Plantation, Fla.
Doreen W., 78, a Democrat who refused to put her last name on the record for fear of causing trouble for her husband at work, said she hoped Mr. Biden would walk again. But she worried if he could handle it.
“I know how exhausting it is for me, and I do nothing but retire,” she said. “I am aware of his age and I am concerned about that.”
When she learned that Mr. Biden was not 78, as she had thought, but 80, she moaned, “Oh, God.”
“If I could keep him at 80 years old and active as he is, I would be more than happy,” she said.
Jacque Deuser, 67, who suffered a canasta defeat, said the way Mr Biden sometimes walked reminded her of her late husband, who suffered from dementia.
“Looks like he’s going to fall,” said Ms. Deuser, who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016, supported Biden in 2020 and is inclined to support him again if Mr. Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis win the Republican nomination.
Mr Biden’s doctor recently reported that he was a “healthy, vigorous 80-year-old” fit to serve, while acknowledging that Mr Biden had a “stiffened gait”, citing arthritis, among other things. But the doctor said no findings were “consistent with a cerebellar or other central neurological disorder.”
Mr Biden works out at least five days a week and doesn’t drink or smoke, and his recent travels, including a secret trip to Ukraine, impressed some of his colleagues.
“I don’t know if I could have been on my feet to go to Ukraine and take a 10-hour train ride,” said Peggy Grove, 80, the Vice Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
But his public appearances were uneven. While Mr. Biden has long been prone to blunders, he has made several glaring misrepresentations as president, and he can sound hesitant. Moments such as a trip on a flight of stairs or a fall from a bicycle have attracted attention.
“I enjoyed working with him. I’m watching him from a distance now and I’m concerned,” said former New Hampshire senator Judd Gregg, a 76-year-old who described herself as “not a Trumpian” Republican. “He’s lost a little bit of his edge.”
The White House did not respond directly to Mr. Gregg.
Several voters said Mr. Biden’s running mate would be important — and many Democrats have privately expressed concern about Vice President Kamala Harris.
But while health is unpredictable, some aging experts have said there are signs Mr Biden could be a “super-ager”.
Dr. John W. Rowe, a former president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and a professor of health policy and aging at Columbia, said “super-agers” tend to live more of their lives without functional limitations.
Dr. Rowe also said age can bring unexpected benefits.
Older people, he said, are often better at resolving disputes and “less likely to do something careless.”
“If you have a super-ager on the one hand, with no clear evidence that something bad is happening right now, and they bring these other characteristics with them, I’d be pretty comfortable for the next four years,” he said, adding that he did not know Mr. Biden.
Dr. Rowe, 78, a former head of Aetna, said he too had occasionally received questions about retirement.
“I don’t feel like I’m functioning less well than I was a few years ago,” he said.
He emphasized that, unlike 30-year-olds, older people differ greatly in their abilities.
Some Democrats pointed to the differences in aging between Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.
Mr. Reagan, who announced he had Alzheimer’s disease in 1994 and died a decade later at age 93, has long struggled with questions about his cognitive functioning. Mr Carter – now aged 98 in hospice care – remained active until recently.
“I just always try to look at the individual, taking age as one of many considerations,” says Gloria Steinem, the women’s rights activist, 89. “For myself, the retrieval time is longer, but the choice of what to reclaim is richer.”
As for Mr Biden, she said: “I feel good about re-electing President Biden depending on both the alternatives and his health.”
Mr. Biden and his allies are highlighting his legislative achievements, including on issues affecting older Americans.
Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said Mr Biden had inherited and helped the country overcome “the worst crises in decades,” and is “now bringing back manufacturing from overseas, rebuilding our infrastructure, enabling Medicare lower drug prices and stand up for the rights and dignity of every American.” He highlighted Mr. Biden’s experience, judgment and values during his tenure.
At a recent meeting of the Broward Democratic Senior Caucus at a Plantation pub, attendees dismissed concerns about Mr. Biden’s age.
“If his head works, he’s fine,” Muriel Kirschner, 94, told a reporter emphatically. “My head is still working, honey.”
Patti Lynn, who turns 80 this year, retired after suffering a heart attack and decided it was “time to have some fun.” But Ms Lynn, whose phone background was a picture of herself with Mr Biden, thought he shouldn’t do the same just yet.
“Does he stumble and forget and must understand his words? I understand that very well,” she laughs. “Been there, done that. Well, I’m having a senior moment. But he is respected worldwide, he is stable.”
“How do you put him down – because he’s old?” she added. “He worked hard to get this old. Me, too. I worked hard to get this old.”
