President Joe Biden, at 81 years old, has been grappling with concerns about his age, which some view as a potential liability in his reelection bid. However, recent developments, including his energetic State of the Union address and the release of the interview transcript with special counsel Robert Hur, have somewhat shifted the political narrative surrounding his age.
The State of the Union address provided a counter-image to previous portrayals of Biden as bewildered or confused, presenting him as robust and in command. Meanwhile, the interview transcript with Hur, while showing occasional moments of fluster, did not support Republican claims of advanced cognitive decline. This has prompted a reassessment of Biden’s fitness to serve as president.
Hur defended his findings in a House hearing, where he declined to validate Republican assertions of Biden’s diminished mental faculties. The focus on Biden’s age in this hearing may indicate that such attacks have lost some of their potency as a political strategy.
Despite these developments, former President Donald Trump continues to target Biden’s age, seeking to revive the narrative of fragility. Biden’s camp, however, aims to shift the focus to his ability to get things done for the American people, contrasting his age with Trump’s bombast.