The White House is forcefully defending President Biden against claims he is getting too old to be president, pointing to his legislative record and a visit earlier this year to a war zone in Ukraine as proof of his experience and stamina.
Mr. Biden, who turned 81 on Monday, is running for another four years in the White House even though he already is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history.
Polling shows Americans are worried about his age ahead of a possible rematch with former President Donald Trump, himself 77 years old, and Democratic adviser David Axelrod recently said Mr. Biden “thinks he can cheat nature.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was dismissive when asked Monday about Mr. Axelrod’s comments.
“There’s no alarm happening behind the scenes. I’m certainly not going to comment on everybody who has something to say,” she said.
“Our perspective is it’s not about age, it’s about the president’s experience,” she said. “That’s what we believe.”
Still, any verbal flub or wobble on the stairs is being amplified by persons who think Mr. Biden is too old to act as leader of the free world.
Some Democrats have openly mused about whether Mr. Biden should exit the stage and allow a younger Democrat — say, Vice President Kamala Harris or such governors as Gavin Newsom of California or Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan — to battle to be the nominee in 2024.
Ms. Jean-Pierre said the American people should focus on results, not age.
“The proof is in the pudding. The president has used his experience to pass more bipartisan legislation in recent [times] than any other president,” she said.
She also said Mr. Biden is juggling multiple foreign-policy crises while lowering the rate of inflation.
“We have to judge him by what he’s done,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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