Fears over Biden's age in gruelling campaign 'shows need for new generation'
Questions over President Joe Biden's age remain after he announced today that he will seek reelection in 2024.
Biden's potential election could be significant historically for the US, which has never had an incumbent president over the age of 80.
At 80 years old, the 46th president is already the oldest person to serve in the White House and exceeds the age Ronald Reagan left office at 77 in 1989.
He will be 86 when he leaves office if he is reelected, but has already been dogged by accusations he is too old to serve.
A recent NBC poll showed 70 per cent of voters not want Mr Biden to stand again - with more than half of Democrats also sharing the same opinion.
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Around 48 per cent of people believe the president's age is a "major concern", the polling showed.
The Mirror spoke to political experts about the situation.
Joe Biden age concerns
Repeated gaffes during his first presidential term have not helped calm the fears of worried voters that their president is too old to be in office.
Dr Thomas Gift, Associate Professor of Political Science at University College London, told The Mirror that Biden's age is one of the "major hangups for voters" and a "gruelling" campaign could be difficult for the octogenarian.
He said: "It used to be the case that raising questions about Biden's physical and mental acuity was almost off-limits, but that's certainly not the case anymore...
"I think it is just obvious looking at Biden and listening to him that he is not the same individual he was 15 or 20 years ago."
A high percentage of voters have said they are concerned about President Biden's age (Joe biden / Youtube)Professor Inderjeet Parmar from the Department of International Politics at City, University of London said Biden's age is likely to become a factor in the upcoming election.
Of the rival Republican Party's possible election tactics, the politics expert said: "I think it will be used by the GOP (Grand Old Party) to undermine Biden, point up some of his infirmities, his errors of memory... and suggest that he’s too old for office, not to mention far too liberal and a hostage of the so-called Far Left."
If Biden's health does wane, Professor Parmar said the president can be "carried by his team".
He added that a "new generation of leaders is required" to deal with major issues, foreign and domestic, concerning the US.
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Vice-President Kamala Harris, 58, has been confirmed as running mate and her popularity may have more of an impact this time around, due to Biden's age.
Kamala Harris is not popular among voters (Ricky Fitchett/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)Currently, VP Harris' popularity levels are struggling and pollsters FiveThirtyEight have her registering nearly a 52 per cent disapproval rating among American voters.
Only 40 per cent of Americans approve of Harris, the polling indicates.
Dr Gift said Mrs Harris had "disappointed voters" and was being kept "under the radar" by the Biden administration.
"She was the heir apparent to Biden back in 2020," Dr Gift said "But I think at this point she is nowhere near the top tier of potential candidates.
"I think one of the reasons Biden did decide to run this time around is that there are no obvious successors to him."
Biden vs Trump
What may boost Biden's chances of reelection is his most likely opponent.
Former President Donald Trump has already announced his election bid for 2024 and is likely to face Biden in a rematch
Biden won over 81 million votes in the 2020 election, the most of any president in history, and defeated the controversial politician.
Some saw Mr Biden's election as a chance to get rid of the circus surrounding Trump's presidency, despite the fact there were already concerns about his age.
Fears over Biden's age may be ignored amid questions about Trump's character (AFP via Getty Images)Trump's antics since the election may prove to work in Biden's favour as the businessman-turned-politician faces a number of legal probes.
In March, a grand jury in New York voted to indict the former president for alleged hush money payments made to pornstar Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen MacDougal.
Prosecutors in Georgia are looking into the possibility of alleged attempts to overturn the presidential election in the state after he infamously told Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger "I just want to find 11,780 votes".
A civil trial is also scheduled to begin today in which former magazine columnist E Jean Carroll alleges Trump sexually assaulted and defamed her in late 1995 or 1996.
Stormy Daniels (Piers Morgan Instagram)Many in the country also hold Trump largely responsible for the January 6 riots, in which angry voters burst into the Capitol building in an attempt to stop Congress from formalising Biden's election victory.
Some of the people who burst into the seat of American democracy wrongly believed the election had been stolen from under their noses by the Democrats.
There has never been a shred of credible evidence to support Trump's claims that the election was stolen.
Professor Parmar added questions about Biden's age will ultimately rest on who his opponent is. Trump's character and own age of 76 may reduce concerns over the current president.
Supporters of US President Donald Trump gather outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6 (AFP via Getty Images)"In the end, the age question will depend far more on the character of Biden’s opponent," Parmar believes. "If it is Donald Trump, which seems likely at the moment though things can and will change in the coming months, then the fact that Biden is not Trump is likely to be far more important than the battle of two relatively aged candidates.
"That is probably why Biden and the Democrats likely prefer to run against Trump than a younger GOP candidate such as Ron DeSantis."
GOP Florida Governor DeSantis has not yet confirmed if he will run for office in 2024.
What happens if Biden loses?
Concerns over Biden's age could have a major impact on world affairs as a loss for Biden could potentially lead to a drastic change in US foreign policy.
Ukraine has been strong in its resistance to Russia, but needs US support (Getty Images)Ukraine has been sent billions in financial and military aid since Vladimir Putin's barbaric full-scale invasion in February 2021.
Politicians among the America First Trump-aligned faction in the Republican Party have called on Biden to stop funding the fight against Putin's forces and funnel the money into the US instead.
Other, less extreme GOP members have called for a reduction in the financial aid given and have raised concerns about corruption in Ukraine.
Political scientist Dr Jonathan Monten told the Mirror that Biden is a "standard American internationalist" who believes the US should play a "robust role" in world affairs.
The US has sent billions in aid to Ukraine (AFP via Getty Images)A loss for Biden could raise concerns among Western allies, particularly as Trump has publicly flirted with the idea of withdrawing from NATO.
Other issues such as the American response to Chinese aggression towards Taiwan could also come under review.
Dr Monten, currently UCL's Associate Professor in Political Science and Director of the International Public Policy Program, said: "I think there are a lot of figures in the Republican Party who are almost 'more Trump than Trump' on some of these foreign policy issues.
"They are very vocal about their opposition to Ukraine, a position Trump flirts with."
Biden 'is not the same individual he was 15 or 20 years ago,' Dr Gift said (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)But issues of foreign policy are not likely to be at the forefront of voters' minds, Dr Monten believes.
"My view of this is that historically, foreign policy issues do not play a major role in presidential elections outside very select cases like the cold war or World War 2," he said.
"The key issues are going to be domestic policy issues and those all standard issues like government spending, abortion [and] inflation."
Other issues facing Biden
Away from the issue of Biden's age, the current president will have to claim authority on key election topics such as the economy.
The GOP is likely to target Biden on his record on inflation, which has surpassed the increase in average wages in recent months.
In response, Democrats are likely to try and point out a fall in unemployment since 2020.
Gas prices are also over 50% higher than when Trump was in office, due in part to the war in Ukraine.
Inflation is likely to be a major issue in 2024 (REX/Shutterstock)Dr Gift said: "Inflation has been the biggest ring around Biden's neck almost since he took office. I think you could make the case that he didn't cause inflation but certainly exacerbated it through his massive $1.9trillion Covid relief bill at exactly the time the US economy was starting to emerge from this period post-Covid.
"The counter to that is that Europe has experienced just as high if not higher levels of inflation than the United States."
Dr Gift added that there are "questions of if at his age he can really speak for and represent and understand a lot of the concerns of the current generation".
Young voters note issues like climate change, access to abortion and gun control among the key issues affecting them and helped Democrats gain a better-than-expected result in last year's Midterms.
Gas prices have skyrocketed during Biden's administration (AFP via Getty Images)Biden's announcement video released today made an immediate reference to abortion rights and he recently called for restricted access to assault rifles.
Despite this, a study by the Centre for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) found the issue of inflation is higher on the agenda than any other.
How much the president's age will impact the upcoming election remains to be seen.
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