US President Joe Biden joked about getting old on Monday to fend off doubts about his age in the 2024 presidential campaign. (Watch the video below.)
“I tell you what, someone said, ‘You know what? That Biden, he’s getting old, man. I tell you what,’” the 80-year-old incumbent said in Philadelphia. “Well, guess what? Guess what? You know, the only thing that comes with age is a little bit of wisdom. I’ve been doing this longer than anybody, and guess what? I’m going to continue to do it, with your help.”
Fast-forward to 2:30:
The remark may be a “subtle response” to a Biden biographer’s comment on Meet the Press, on Sunday, that he wouldn’t be shocked if Biden dropped out of the race, Fox News’ Peter Doocy said, per Mediaite.
“It would be a surprise to me but it wouldn’t be a total surprise,” said Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.
“It wouldn’t be a total shock,” Foer added.
Biden may have also been reacting to a few surveys indicating reservations about his age.
An AP-NORC poll recently showed that 77% of adults say Biden is too old for a second term, compared with just 51% who think the same of former US President Donald Trump, the 77-year-old Republican front-runner.
A Wall Street Journal poll released on Monday somewhat echoed those results, with 73% of respondents believing Biden is too old for a second term, compared with just 47% regarding Trump.
However, the same poll shows Biden and Trump in a dead heat for 2024, despite Trump facing 91 criminal charges over four indictments.