Joe Biden's age problem is getting worse

HIs campaign needs to find an answer -- and fast

(Joe Biden/Getty Images)

Joe Biden is old.

And voters are worried — and getting more so.

That’s my big takeaway from the latest NBC national poll released on Sunday.

Here’s the relevant data: 68% of voters said it was either a “major” or “moderate” concern that Biden had “the necessary mental and physical health to be president.”

68%!!!!

And that includes 55% who said it was a MAJOR concern of theirs.

But that’s not the worst of it for Biden. This is: In October 2020, just 51% of voters had major or moderate concerns about his mental and physical health.¹

Which means that in the space of two and a half year, a whole lot more people have grown a whole lot more concerned about Biden’s ability to do the job.

The NBC poll isn’t an isolated case either.

An ABC survey in May produced a similar finding: 68% of voters said Biden was too old to be president. And just 1 in 3 (32%) said Biden has the “mental sharpness” it takes to effectively serve as president.

And Sarah Longwell, a Republican consultant who conducts weekly focus groups on politics, says that the topic comes up regularly. "Immediately when they start thinking about 2024, the first place they go is his age,” she told NPR. “They are simply worried he is too old for another term.”

What’s clear from all the data is that the FUNDAMENTAL challenge of the 2024 campaign for Biden and his team in to convince people that his age is not such a negative — or, even better, not an issue at all.

To date, the Biden plan appears to be to try to minimize his age.

“I can’t even guess how old I am,” he said in late April shortly after announcing his bid for a 2nd term. “I can’t even say the number, it doesn’t register with me. The only thing I can say is they’re going to see a race and they’re going to judge whether I have or don’t have it.”

In that same press conference, Biden said he had taken a “hard look” at his age before he decided to run, adding: “I feel good, I feel excited about the prospects.”

Other than that, however, Biden has been loathe to talk too much about his age and how it impacts the 2024 race.

The NBC data suggests that may well need to change. The issue is simply too big — elephant in the room type stuff — for Biden to ignore much longer.

And it’s clearly gotten worse. My guess is that things like his fall at the Air Force Academy earlier this month — Biden tripped over a sandbag that had been left on stage — only exacerbate the problem.

Republicans— led by former President Donald Trump — seized on the trip as proof positive Biden is failing and flailing, unsuited to be running for the office he is seeking.

“That’s a bad place to fall,” said Trump of Biden’s trip. “That’s not inspiring.”

While the focus on Biden’s latest fall — especially by Republicans — is probably overblown, the reality is that Biden has slowed in recent years.

This, from the New York Times, is telling:

[Aides] acknowledged Mr. Biden looks older than just a few years ago, a political liability that cannot be solved by traditional White House stratagems like staff shake-ups or new communications plans. His energy level, while impressive for a man of his age, is not what it was, and some aides quietly watch out for him. He often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he will trip on a wire. He stumbles over words during public events, and they hold their breath to see if he makes it to the end without a gaffe.

Biden’s most recent physical — from February of this year — proclaimed him a “healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male” but did note that he has a stiffness in his gait from an arthritic back and some neuropathy in his feet.

What’s become clear — at least to me — is that Biden needs a new strategy when it comes to his age.

Simply saying that people can judge for themselves whether he is able isn’t enough — since poll after poll shows that people believe is too old and have major concerns that he can do the job!

Obviously Biden’s can’t change his age. Or how he looks. And while he and his campaign have to hope he doesn’t fall again on the campaign trail, that‘s not really something they can guarantee either.

Instead, Biden needs to talk openly — and differently — about his age and health.

He started to do so in an early May interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle.

“I have acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom and know more than the vast majority of people,” Biden said. “And I’m more experienced than anybody that’s ever run for the office. And I think I’ve proven myself to be honorable as well as also effective.”

Which is a smart frame! This isn’t about age, it’s about experience! It’s not about acuity, it’s about effectiveness!

Biden needs to do more of that. If I were his campaign, I would do two things:

1. Work that age and experience line into his stump speech

2. Plan — and promote — a big speech about age

The idea behind giving a speech is that you address the issue head on in a fulsome manner and put it in the terms you most want. And then, whenever someone asks about age or acuity, you can refer them to the speech — and not have to address it again.

Barack Obama did something similar in 2008 when it became clear his connection to controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright wasn’t going to go away as an issue.

He delivered a speech about Wright but also, more broadly, about lingering questions of race in America. It was, in the words of the Washington Post, the the speech that “saved Obama’s candidacy.”

That’s probably too lofty a goal to set for Biden. But, finding a way to effectively address the issue is of critical import.

I have written before — and will write again! — that Biden’s age is THE central issue of the campaign for his side. Ignoring it — as Biden has largely done to date — isn’t making things better. It’s time for him to take it head on.

1. That’s far from the only bad news in the poll for Biden. Just 39% view him positively and just 43% approve of the job he is doing.