When Seth Meyers questioned President Joe Biden about any reservations voters might have about backing the 81-year-old Democrat candidate, he had a prepared response – along with a dig at his Republican opponent, former president Donald Trump .
Biden made a comeback to Late Night With Seth Meyers for a 10th anniversary special commemorating the show’s debut episode, which had featured Biden too, then as a vice president serving a second term. After a commercial break, Meyers said that although he doesn’t host a “gotcha show,” certain newly disclosed classified documents suggest that Biden is 81 years old, per Mediaite . Biden joked, “Who the hell told you that?” He declared, “That’s classified,” to cheers from the audience.
“All jokes aside, according to recent polling, this is a real concern for American voters,” Meyers said, referring to many polls about the incumbent president’s age. 86% of Americans believe that Joe Biden, 81, is too elderly to hold office for another term as president, according to a new ABC News /Ipsos survey. Included in that number are 59% of Americans who believe that both he and Trump are too old, and 27% who believe that only Biden is too old.
“How do you address that concern going forward as you come up to the 2024 election?” Meyers asked Biden on the show. “Well, a couple of things. Number one, you got to take a look at the other guy,” Biden responded, taking a quick dig at Trump. “He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name,” he said with a smile.
Exhibit C: Age. This answer about Biden’s age was *perfect.* First, look at the other guy. He’s about as old as me but he can’t remember his wife’s name. It’s also about how old your ideas are. He wants to take us back 60 years. It’s about the future. THIS. pic.twitter.com/eULOkP9Enp
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) February 27, 2024
Biden appeared to be referring to a recent blunder made by Trump during a CPAC address, whereby he confused his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, calling her Mercedes instead. Matt Schlapp, the founder of CPAC, is married to Mercedes Schlapp. “It’s about how old your ideas are,” Biden continued.
“Look, I mean, this is a guy who wants to take us back …he wants to take us back in Roe v Wade. He wants to take us back on a whole range of issues that are 50-60 years old. They’ve been solid American positions,” Biden forayed from comedy to serious policy discussions, adding, “I mean this sincerely. They, I think it’s about, about the future and everything, every single thing we’ve done, I think we’ve got some good things done.”
According to polls, Trump has frequently, and maybe effectively attacked Biden for his alleged “cognitive decline”. Democrats believe there’s a disparity in the standards used to assess each man’s cognitive abilities, per US News .
While many psychologists are backing Trump’s mental deterioration, while aging specialists like Steven Austad, the chair of the University of Alabama Birmingham’s biology department, call this “a lot of political nonsense.” Austad added, “Aging makes people different,” but affects them differently. Some people at Biden’s and Trump’s age are in a nursing home. Others are running marathons and are writing great works of scholarship.”