Former US president, Donald Trump has said he is not a critic of the age of Joe Biden, America’s oldest president.
According to Trump, the Democrat is “not too old” to seek a second term, while quickly adding: “I think he’s incompetent and that’s a bigger problem.”
Trump’s comments made in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” will be aired Sunday September 17, as the US faces a profound debate over the ageing of its political class, a major factor ahead of the 2024 elections when Biden will be just shy of 82 and Trump himself 78.
Polls show that Americans worry more about Biden’s age, with one survey finding that three in four people doubt his ability to last a second term.
Trump ended his own term in office as the second-oldest president ever (Ronald Reagan was 77 at the end of his term).
He would be 82 at the end of a second term, from trying to thread that needle.
“Some of the greatest world leaders have been in their 80s,” he told NBC. “I’m not anywhere very near 80, by the way.“And Biden’s not too old,” Trump added. “But I think he’s incompetent, and that’s a bigger problem.”
Biden overcame a stammering problem as a youth, but has been mocked for his gaffes. He does not drink and is often seen riding his bicycle during weekends at his Delaware home.
Like Biden, Trump too, does not drink but in the NBC interview he said his age does not concern him, noting that his parents had long lives.