Too old? Americans weigh in on Joe Biden's new candidacy

• April, 26 2023 à 16:17
• JC Dorsainvil
• Politique
• 0 Comments

At 71, Eloise walks about four miles a day in a Houston park and believes 80-year-old Joe Biden has the energy for another term in the United States. Although younger people don't think the same.
“I am an elderly person. A lot of times people talk about Biden's age, which he can't do this or that? But I think you're competent enough for the job. He did well, he is honest, upright. We need it to continue,” says Eloise Wilson.
Biden, who announced on Tuesday that he would run for a second term as the Democratic candidate in the 2024 election, won 81 million votes for his 2020 election, the most by a U.S. presidential candidate.
But not everyone is convinced to keep him in the White House. Young people are the toughest.
“It may be a bit old-fashioned (…) Things are different now. He doesn't talk like Gen Z (…) He might get dementia [later] and start making bad decisions. It would be better to have someone who is younger, who deals faster and who can identify more with the younger generations,” says Avery Gonzales, a 19-year-old student at the University of Southern California.
Remember when Biden fell off his bike last June. “He got up a little disoriented. And I said to myself: is this the president?
"He's a bit old," comments Laura Miranda, 31, from New Jersey, meanwhile, of Biden, Washington's oldest leader and who would be 86 when his second term ends. "But I don't know who else it could be," the candidate says, referring to the dearth of Democratic hopefuls to challenge Republicans.
"He may be healthy now, but who knows what he'll look like six years from now," says Steven Hjupp of Connecticut.
On the Republican side, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appear as options for their primaries, while Donald Trump himself has already announced his candidacy.
But Avery of California is also not enthusiastic about Trump. "They're both too old," he says, and if it comes to choosing between Biden and Trump, he probably won't vote.
Those who approve of Biden's work over the past two years, in which he has dealt with covid, the war in Ukraine, inflation and abortion-related disputes, also worry about his intentions to re-election.
"I was hoping for a Democratic Party nominee who would have a chance to make it in the race, but I don't trust Biden to be that nominee," said New Jersey chief financial officer Mike Stroube, 60.
"I think he's got guts, considering he's 80. But he's fine and I think [Barack] Obama has set the tone for him. Also, Joe has been in politics for a while. The time is Is he on your side? I don't know," said Aisha Smith, 42, of Houston, Texas.
A viable candidate
"Age is an issue...I wish we could have a viable young presidential candidate. I don't know if that's good news or bad news. But we don't have as many 'younger alternatives because the Democratic Party has done a poor job cultivating younger leadership,' says firefighter James Everett Newman, 34, in a Houston park.
Meanwhile, in Washington, retired Roger Tilton, 72, thinks that even though Biden has done well, he wants to not run again," he says. "I'm not as mentally sharp as I was 20 years ago years old, and there's no way he's not either," Tilton says.
For Ron Autry, 33, a member of the Black Alumni Association at the University of Southern California, Biden "is at his best." Although “he is old, he has a lot of experience. I'd rather have someone experienced than inexperienced,” he says.