The VP tackles one of the 2024 race’s biggest debates.
As the 2024 presidential election inches ever closer, voters and pundits alike can’t seem to get Joe Biden’s age off their minds — and now his running mate is joining the conversation.
At 80, Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history, and if he won a second term, he’d wrap up his time in the White House at 86. A large majority of Americans aren’t feeling particularly confident about that, according to a new poll in which 77 percent of respondents said the president is too old to seek another four years in office. But on the flip side, Biden’s annual check-up earlier this year found him to be “a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency,” as his doctor wrote.
So what does Biden’s second-in-command have to say about this controversial topic?
Vice President Kamala Harris was asked about that headline-grabbing poll in a new interview with the AP, and she made clear she has zero doubt about the president’s ability to do his job for another term.
“I see him every day. A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out,” Harris said. “I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers, and Joe Biden delivers.”
In making her case for Biden’s fitness for office, Harris described him as “an extraordinary leader who has accomplished things that previous presidents hoped and dreamed and promised they would do and did not achieve.”
The conversation about Biden’s age is a complex one. What some call legitimate questions about an octogenarian’s cognitive abilities are seen by others as an ageist strategy meant to discount Biden’s accomplishments. It’s further complicated by the fact that the front-runner for the Republican nomination, former President Donald Trump, is 77 — only three years younger than Biden — and yet he rarely faces similar questions about his physical fitness to serve.
No matter where you stand on this debate, it’s clear that Biden’s age has become a narrative that can’t be ignored, and his campaign will need to address it as he makes a case to voters that he deserves another term. Katie recently discussed this with Franklin Foer, author of the new book The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future. In his opinion, Democrats should look for a way to argue that Biden being long in the tooth is actually an advantage.
“They need to embrace age as a virtue,” Foer said. “There’s no hiding the fact that [Biden] is old, but I would make an argument like this: Having been around the block, he knows what he’s doing. Wielding power is hard. It takes trial and error. Biden has lived through enough history to be able to effectively navigate his way through it. Yes, his gait might be labored, but he’s acquired wisdom that is hard to replicate.”
For many voters, the concern over Biden’s age isn’t so much about whether he can do the job today, but what could happen if unforeseen circumstances forced him to step down early. That question relates strongly to Harris, who would be next in line to assume the presidency if disaster did strike.
In her AP interview, Harris was quick to underscore the fact that she was only speaking about the idea of becoming president herself in response to a “hypothetical” question, but she was unequivocal about feeling prepared to do so.
“Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,” she said. “But let us also understand that every vice president — every vice president — understands that when they take the oath, they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president. I am no different.”
