President Joe Biden is currently the oldest president in American history, and it shows — from his stumbles to his slurs, Biden has faced a barrage of criticism for doubling down on his re-election campaign rather than stepping aside for someone who is, let’s say, more agile.
But if history tells us anything, Biden’s age and the focus on it could be a losing argument.
An August poll found 77% of Americans are worried Biden is too old to govern effectively, and a September poll found a record-low number of Americans, 28%, said Biden inspires confidence as the leader of the country. Meanwhile a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) poll released in early December found former President Donald Trump leads Biden 45% to 29% on the question of mental fitness. Trump was also ahead 34 points on “physical stamina.” An Economist/YouGov poll also found 55% of voters believe Biden’s age and health would “severely limit his ability to do the job,” while just 26% said the same of Trump.
But is the issue of age all that it’s cracked up to be?
Apparently not.
The Whigs nominated William Henry Harrison in 1840, who at the time, was the oldest presidential candidate in the nation’s short history. Democrats, desperate to hold the White House, began their first line of defense: attack his age.
“Both physically and intellectually incompetent to perform the many, varied, arduous, and important duties which must devolve upon every President of the United States,” was how Democrats described the presidential hopeful.
But lucky for Harrison, an economic panic in 1937 meant Democrats faced an uphill battle to win over voters, a battle that even an age gap could overcome successfully.
To quell any concerns about Harrison’s fitness, Whigs even had a physician publicly vouch for Harrison’s physical and mental health.
A clean bill of health, a souring economy and a disgruntled voting base was no match for Democrats’ attack on age.
Fast forward nearly two decades later when Democrats picked James Buchanan, 65, to be their party’s nominee. The Republican Party (newly formed by former Whigs who were anti-slavery) nominated 43-year-old John Frémont. This time it was Republicans’ turn to play the age card. One cartoon showed a side-by-side of Frémont and his wife next to Buchanan, who appeared old and lonely. Frémont and his wife were billed as “Young America.”
But Frémont’s youth was no match for voters’ feelings on slavery. As the nation headed toward Civil War, Buchanan and Democrats capitalized on Frémont’s sympathies to black Americans, alienating Frémont and Republicans from an entire voting base in the South.
In the same vein, while Biden’s age may be a concern, will it be enough of a concern for independent voters to overlook abortion, which has proven to be a key voting issue in recent elections, even for swing voters?
This all goes to say, there was a time when another president’s fitness was publicly coming into question and nearly tanked his re-election until Democrats made a last ditch effort to save his campaign.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was a sexagenarian when he ran for his fourth term in 1944. Roosevelt, who would go on to die during his final term, was suffering from hand tremors and memory lapses that was recorded off-the-record. Republican New York Gov. Thomas Dewey didn’t directly call out the president by name but made repeated references to “tired old men” in the White House, according to The Washington Post.
While most of the innards of FDR’s health issues were kept under wraps, Democrats were apparently not turning a blind eye to the issue.
The party decided to oust Vice President Henry Wallace, who was seen as a champion of the progressive wing of the party, in favor of a more moderate Democrat, Harry Truman.
Perhaps the Truman-ticket quelled fears that should voters vote for FDR and he die while in office, the nation would not head down a progressive path. (RELATED: Harris Faulkner So Taken Aback By Liberal Contributor’s Answer That She Cuts Him Off And Moves On To Other Guest)
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seen as far more progressive than her older counterpart, could be the make-or-break decision for swing voters who worry Biden’s clear cognitive decline and physical instability may prevent him from carrying out a second term and could leave the country with Harris as president.
No matter how you slice it, though, voters tend to vote on the issues and historically have not counted age as an “issue.”
Only time will tell!