Trump for Presidential Run in 2024: Will His Age Be an Issue?
Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump. Source for Photo: U.S Department of State
On November 16, 2022, former President Donald Trump announced his bid for the 2024 election. Trump, who is now 76 years old, unhesitatingly explained that “in order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for President of the United States,” followed by waves of applause and screams from passionate and fanatical fans. Biden, who was elected to his post at 78 years old, is subjected to constant attacks about his advanced age and its impacts on his profession. A problem arises when people pose different reactions when discussing Trump’s age, who, if elected in 2024, will also be 78. The question now is: how will Republicans play around with this fact?
Ageism is a political weapon in contemporary American politics. Steve Holland and Jason Lange, journalists at Reuters, present that 68% of those surveyed think Biden, due to his age, “may not be up for the challenge two years from now,” with 86% believing that the maximum age one should be allowed to serve as president is 75 or younger. Even though opinions like these can originate from both parties, Republican politicians use Biden’s age as a weapon to critique his government, policies, and overall performance. For example, Ronny Jackson – a doctor who served as Physician to the President from 2013 to 2018 – questioned Biden’s mental sharpness in a tweet in 2020 where he mentioned that Biden should be subjected to a cognitive test – the same one that Trump “aced.” Tyler Olson, a reporter at Fox News, also reported that fifty members of the Republican party submitted a letter to President Biden requesting him to take a cognitive test, explaining that “all Presidents should follow the example set by former President Trump to document and demonstrate sound mental abilities.” Biden himself does acknowledge his age is a “legitimate” concern for voters but believes they should look more at his policymaking than his age.
The debate over a candidate’s or president’s age is not new. One well-known example of a previous president who was a target of ageism was Ronald Reagan. At the time of his first term in 1980, Reagan was 69 years old, the oldest person to assume the U.S. Presidency at the time. In a memorable moment, when questioned whether he was too old to serve a second term in 1984, Reagan answered that he would “not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” Never in U.S. history, in this author’s opinion, has a candidate contested such a question so brilliantly. Many others, like Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, were also subjected to ageism. Eisenhower, for being deemed too old, and Kennedy, for his youth.
However, what is new is the way that Trump and his supporters might confront ageism. The former president became known for denying facts and conducting a story in the best way he sees fit. He did so during the COVID-19 pandemic and the insurrection on January 6, denying the importance of lockdown and his responsibility for the invasion of the Capitol building. The former president’s known trait is molding — at least attempting to — a reality on his own terms. Following this logic, one can predict how Trump may play around with the contention of his age if re-elected at the grand age of 78. As of today, there are already many examples present that can shed light on a possible outcome. Fox News host Dana Perino suggested that “Trump’s age shouldn’t be a topic of concern” since he is aging at a “different rate” than Biden. Another, Mike Lupica, a sports commentator, tweeted, “Well, yeah, but look at the way he keeps himself up,” as a response to Jen Psaki’s post calling attention to Trump’s age. Similarly, Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, also replied to Psaki’s tweet by saying, “actually he may be 47,” joking that if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, he would be the 47th U.S. President. When it comes to public opinion on Trump’s candidacy, Quinnipiac University published a poll showing that “78% of Republicans want to see Trump run for President in 2024,” even though his age will be similar to Biden’s.
To conclude, for hard-core Republicans, advanced age seems to be an issue only if applying to the opposition. As seen, Biden is heavily criticized regarding his advanced age. With Republican politicians using the opportunity to further undermine Biden’s government, the debate on ageism was put on the spot, one that is neither beneficial, since our focus is not on one’s policies but one’s figure, but it also undermines, and restates, a common tactic in today’s right-wing politics: personal attacks aimed at prominent political figures from the opposition. As seen in the different reactions Trump’s advanced age gets, a percentage of Americans fall into the unfortunate circumstance of believing that — somehow — Trump at 78 will do a better job than Biden at 78. If the problem at hand is the age of a presidential figure, then why not treat them the same? If Biden is indeed too old for office, what guarantees do Americans have that Trump will act differently and put a stop once and for all on this debate? What if he does not? Will we just be watching the same old movie once again?