“I alone can fix it”

A reality check on claims around the president’s age.

I’ve been thinking about some of the claims made about the president, his party, and their situation. Some are valid, others debatable, and others dubious at best. I’ll pass through some big ones in this post, which is partly available to everyone and partly for paid subscribers.

“Democrats are only discussing this now because they’re afraid they will lose.” There’s definitely something to this. Many in his party have been anxious for years about the oldest president in history. Most nonetheless deferred to their leader, who by their lights was generally making good decisions. His party’s strong performance in the 2022 midterms killed efforts to find a replacement. Dean Phillips, a Democratic lawmaker, challenged him in the 2024 primaries and got no traction at all with voters. If Biden were ahead in the general election polls, he might have more leeway, as Ronald Reagan did after a bad debate in 1984. But Biden is not ahead, and Democrats fear a Trump win would be disastrous for the country.

“Both candidates are old and showing their age.” Republicans have, in fact, chosen a nominee who just turned 78 and apparently believes he won the last presidential election, even after thousands of election officials from both political parties, dozens of court cases, and after-the-fact audits affirmed that he lost. Many Republicans who are endorsing him have said, privately or publicly, that he is unfit to serve. He would be 82 at the end of his term, a few months older than Biden is now.

“Changing candidates is undemocratic.” Not necessarily; depends on how it’s done. If Biden chooses to step down, that’s his prerogative. If he chooses to stay, Democrats say that is also within his power. If donors and supporters abandon him, that is also their choice. Democracy is never about one man, and he would need to persuade Democrats to stick with him. As of this writing, Biden’s case is that he’s the nominee and the only thing standing between the country and Trump.

“It’s impossible to choose a replacement.” Not impossible. If Vice President Kamala Harris is the replacement, she’s been part of the ticket all along, and her primary responsibility is to step in when needed. If Democrats were to select some other figure, it does become problematic; why this person and what’s the process? But from the 1830’s to the 1970’s, as I have written elsewhere, convention delegates did choose nominees at a convention called for that purpose. That democratic vote of delegates remains the legal act that affirms who is nominated.

“Democrats are incapable of collective action.” Untrue. Arguably, Biden is president because they were capable of it. In 2020, after he lost badly in early primaries, the Democratic establishment united behind him to head off Bernie Sanders, who seemed less electable. James Clyburn delivered South Carolina; Pete Buttigeig and others dropped out before Super Tuesday. Biden never looked back.

“The media conspired to hide Joe Biden’s true condition.” Some Republicans maintain Biden should have been called out sooner and more loudly. It is fair to say that the White House pushed back heavily on any coverage of the president’s age; but a quick search reveals a lot of stories about his age and its implications, even if there wasn’t a firestorm until the debate triggered one. Some details follow.