Democrats playing the age card. Really?
In recent weeks, Democrats have been running a new campaign narrative — that Trump is suffering the ravages of aging. In other words, they are attempting to push back against Biden’s political vulnerability regarding his age – or more precisely his increasingly obvious physical and mental decline.
As evidence of Trump’s alleged decline in vitality and acuity, the leftwing media folks are compiling a litany of Trump’s misstatements, mistakes, and slips-of-the-tongue as evidence of a growing debility. These examples are being presented as counterpoints to the litany of Biden’s misstatements, mistakes and slips-of-the-tongue that have been cited by his political adversaries.
Like many issues that evolve, the initial response was merely to point out that Biden is only four years older than Trump – 81 to 77 respectively. That simple statistic is not working with voters because they understand that age and vitality are two different things. The concern over Biden was NOT his chronological age, but his manifest physical and mental condition – with emphasis on the latter.
In fact, the strategy of countering Biden’s age/vitality problem by merely comparing ages had two problems. First, age was not the issue. It is vitality. Second, most folks understand that a four-year difference at those advanced ages can produce remarkable differences in both physical and mental condition.
Both Trump and Biden are at an age in which things start to develop in different ways for different people. I call it “the age of anything can happen at any moment.” In fact, barely more than one-half (55%) of white American males reach the age of 80 – and only 39 percent reach 85. If you only rely on statistics, Trump has a good chance – better than 50/50 — to complete a second term. He would leave the office at the age of 82 – close to Biden’s age going in. According to the statistics, Biden has only a 39 percent chance of surviving to his 86th birthday – the time he would otherwise leave office.
Of course, those are just statistics. Individual outcomes differ. What is more important is the actual physical and mental conditions. And that is where the age debate rages.
Despite the fact of Biden’s age and his apparent condition as observed by voters, Team Biden has now taken on the age issue as a new attack narrative against Trump. They are trying to convince voters that Trump is also too old and lacks the mental acuity to serve another term as President. In other words, Biden is trying to convince voters that Trump’s mental acuity is a as bad as his. Whoa! That is Team Biden’s latest attack strategy? “I may be old and losing it, but so is my opponent.”
The strategy has three drawbacks. First, it virtually concedes that Biden has age problems of significance to voters. And second, the strategy brings Biden’s age issues back to the front burner of campaign issues.
The third drawback may be the most problematic for Biden. It is how the voters view it. In every poll, the majority of voters give Trump the edge on the issue of age and vitality. The most recent NBC Poll found that 74 percent of voters have concerns about Biden’s “mental and physical” health compared to only 47 percent for Trump. About the same time, the ABC/NORC Poll found that 77 percent of voters believe that Biden too old to be effective for a second term, while 50 percent believe that of Trump.
That means the Biden strategy to wipe out the perceived difference between him and Trump has a steep hill to climb. It is that old classic question, “You going to believe me or your lying eyes.”
The credibility of the new Biden narrative is undermined by the fact that Trump has taken – and passed – cognitive tests, while Biden has refused demands that he take them.
I have opined in the past that I believe that age is going to be a HUGE issue in terms of voting. When considering Biden’s poor polling number on most of the key issues, the age issue may be the final nail in the casket, so to speak.
So, there ‘tis.
“In saying, “you going to believe me or your lying eyes,” I think you said it all. What will be will be, and what we think we see, we see.
Biden is scrutinized 24/7 and each misstep tracked, espeically by the right.
Trump has been blacked out, many Trumpers don’t care what he says anyway, they have always known their truth that he speaks to. Don’t really matter what he actually says or how he says it.
I am one for reviving Trump live, Trump twitter, and let’s hear what he says. Because since 1.6.2021 when I listen in, I am aghast at the blunders, misspeaks, and out n out clusterfuck of a word salad he spews. I mean there’s some real mean-speak, revenge-speak, victim-speak, and not a lot of justice-speak, policy-speak, so let’s hear it. Many Trumpers may be surpirsed where they left off as compared to where he is today. And that’s on top of the perenial lies. But now there’s a weirdness on top, he sweats alot, looking a bit under the gun, it’s different by far than 2016.
I agree, it’s vitality, it’s charisma, it’s the words, so let’s hear em. And get those fact checkers to post MISSTATEMENT right over thier mouths as they say it. Heck, it’s ez, these guys repeat themselves a lot. JOE has never been great on the firing line, but most often rises to the occassion on the speech. SOTU is March 3, seems late post super Tuesday, but it will be fun to see MTG’s outfit and how Joe handles her heckling. Maybe others join her this year. What fun! But like it our not, fair or not, let’s face it — this SOTU is his campaign speech and will unveil a lot to America. But indeed, let’s give Don the bully pulpit and hear his current bull too.
One other thing re: the averages. They are that. But the President is not average, any President, just due to the medical attention, access, and availability they have. They have an above average edge in that reqard. Even over a billionaire.
And they we can see the vitality that is so important.
“As signs point to the 2024 presidential election being a repeat of the 2020 race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Biden holds a lead over Trump 50 – 44 percent among registered voters in a hypothetical general election matchup, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of registered voters released today.”
Uh oh, better gin up the hate speak machine…… *https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3889*
“The gender demographic tells a story to keep an eye on. Propelled by female voters in just the past few weeks, the head-to-head tie with Trump morphs into a modest lead for Biden,” Probably that damned 65,000 RAPE BABIES forced to be born upon women might have some impact. Imagine is there are 65,000 RAPE BABIES then how many unwanted babies are being forced upon women and the world? These women, and their friends, VOTE.
And, of course, to round out the weirdness: “”In a head-to-head matchup against Biden, Haley outperforms Trump, thanks to independents. Add third party candidates to the mix and her numbers slip in part because of her weakness among Republicans.” leading one to wonder about the East, the Eastwood: You got to ask yourself, do you feel lucky to stick with Trump or do you want to win with Haley, well, do ya punks….
Frankly, means nothing, long ways to go and Spring economics leading to Summer will be a tipping point. So far, looks good to be, but much turbelence and many Republicans willing to burn it all down for the win. So, if they stop the border funding, the Urkainian funding, they won’t fuck with the Jews, but they could stop our funding to ourselves too and who knows who gets the blame until it happens.
So, time will tell but heartening news to Joe as the legal decisions and donatation spent chasing them will wear on Trumpy eroding his support, especially amongst Indies, and in swing states. If Haley drops, not sure that does not help Joe. I could make a case that it does.
Maybe so, but Trump speaks what he wants and wishes to say, NOT what he is told to say.
Granted, not always a good thing, But what I here and see I can believe.
No Teleprompters, No Notes, NO Rehearsals.
Biden can not even read his Notes.
There is no comparison between the two.
Biden is a retired Clown from the Political Circus!
Retard joe is a puppet. The old fool doesn’t know what he’s doing. And Frank wants to be governed by a dementia patient. Great. Watch him sundown during the destruction of the union speech. I say that red states succeed and be done with it. We are no longer the “united “ states.
It’s not so much “Beijing Joe” Biden’s AGE as much as his TREASON and INCOMPETENCE.
Puppet of who?
What treasonous act?
Whatact of incompetence?
If states left the US, our economy would be better. We could spend our taxes on our selves. Just add up the red states and check those numbers. You may hate us, but you take our money all day long.
No surprise here when a commentary has both Biden and Age in its title. The author has got to be Larry Horist, Esq. No other PBP commentator owns the “age” stage like Larry does. Nor, do Larry’s comrades on PBP write about Biden with scrutiny that would befit a biography author.
Could Larry’s creative fiction style combined with biographical history based on Horist’s “go to” subject, Biden. Biden’s long successful career in politics is right up Horist’s alley.
The plethora in number are his commentary essays high lighting Biden. He has produced enough word fodder that further research would not be necessary.
Such a tome written from the particular philosophical perspective of him who is the Conservative head and shoulders above all other conservatives, would be a TIMES Best Seller week after week. A record setting literary phenomenon will be heralded in Larry’s wit and wisdom found in his prose.
Whole thing sounds like the pot calling the kettle black. Alas, they do protest too much…
Larry, Of course you are unwilling to admit the obvious-Trump has been mentally deficient since long before he first ran for president. Don’t believe me-just listen to the scores of people who have worked with him over the years-comments ranging from “he’s just effing stupid” to “he’s really losing it”. Of course, those people can’t be trusted-they are no longer part of the magat fold…. We have all heard trump ramble on about how Nicki Haley was responsible for the Capitol riots-however no such statements have come from the lips of Biden indicating he is ‘losing it’. Nicki Haley is right to seize on the fact that trump is lost in dementia-as is the Biden campaign to seize on this in an attempt to educate voters. We all know that the true magats are as stupid as you are and won’t listen to facts however, but there are others who listen to people who bring them facts…
The age card is a pre-emptive strategy…they are preparing the ground to switch to a younger democrat candidate (Newsom/MObama)
and they will use that candidates younger age to their advantage. Note that comedians and CNN panelists are clumping Biden/Trump together.
1. To get rid of Biden
and then
2. To beat Trump with a younger candidate.