|
Already the oldest president in American history, Biden would be
86 if he served out a second term. He has repeatedly said he
will run for re-election in 2024, even as many Democrats have
questioned whether the party should support a younger candidate
instead.
A New York Times/Sienna College poll in July found only 26% of
Democratic voters supported renominating Biden for 2024, with
age cited as the biggest reason for those opposed.
In September, Biden publicly sought out Jackie Walorski, an
Indiana Congresswoman who died in a car accident the previous
month, seeming to forget that she had passed away.
"I'm in good health. All my, everything physically about me is
still functioning well, so you know, and mentally too," the
president, who will turn 80 next month, said in the interview
with MSNBC that aired on Sunday.
Biden said he should be judged based on his current vigor on the
job, rather than his age, though he acknowledged the issue is a
"legitimate" voter worry.
"I'm a great respecter of fate. I could get a disease tomorrow.
I could, you know, drop dead tomorrow ... in terms of my energy
level, in terms of how much I'm able to do, I think people
should look and say - can he still have the same passion for
what he's doing?" Biden said.
"And if they think I do and I can do it, then that's fine. If
they don't, then they should vote against me - not against me,
they should encourage me not to go. But that's not how I feel."
(Reporting by Joel Schectman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
