Older and Wiser? Joe Biden Sets New Record at 81 While Republicans Question His Age

At 81, Pres­i­dent Joe Biden now holds the record as the old­est U.S. leader ever. How­ev­er, his age remains a top con­cern for some vot­ers ahead of 2024. Mean­while, Biden stays active with hol­i­day duties at the White House.

On his birth­day Mon­day, Biden host­ed the annu­al Turkey Par­don cer­e­mo­ny. Lat­er, the First Lady wel­comed the Christ­mas tree as the Pres­i­dent often jokes about queries on his aging. “Call me old, I say expe­ri­enced,” Biden said.

While Biden’s doc­tor calls him “fit for duty,” polls show many uneasy over an 86-year-old in a sec­ond term. But Biden brush­es off notions of slow­ing down. Dur­ing busy week­ends, the Bidens also dined with troops and will trav­el Tues­day to Massachusetts.

Biden became the old­est pres­i­dent at 78 in 2021. His poten­tial 2024 chal­lenger, Don­ald Trump, was the pre­vi­ous old­est at 70 in 2017. Now 76, Trump also faces age ques­tions as he eyes anoth­er run.

As Repub­li­cans like Flori­da’s Ron DeSan­tis emerge, age remains Biden’s lone record but also a tar­get for oppo­nents demand­ing a “new gen­er­a­tion” of lead­er­ship. With the hol­i­day sea­son under­way, Joe Biden keeps work­ing while crit­ics repeat­ed­ly raise the age issue.