This Sunday, November 20, US President Joe Biden celebrates his 80th birthday. He becomes the first octogenarian to occupy the Oval Office and still says he intends to run for a second term in two years, but his age raises questions.
It is cold, but beautiful on the federal capital. Marty turned 80 this summer and as so often, he is in front of the gates with his little sign to denounce hatred in American politics, tells our correspondent in Washington, Guillaume Naudin. One could almost say that he too works at the White House: “ I come when I want. He can’t come when he wants. He never has the luxury I have of deciding in the morning to stay in bed and not bother with it. And that is a problem when you are very old. He seems healthy, but I don’t believe 80 is an appropriate age to start a presidency. »
Marty has been retired for 34 years, the age of Chavay, an African-American from Columbus, Ohio. She doesn’t see President Biden’s age as a problem: If he wants to run for another term, let him run for another term. There are people who are 100 years old and still running and making decisions, so we can’t judge. If he’s ready, he’s ready. »
Chavay is for the first time in his life in Washington, with her husband André, who is not entirely of the same opinion: “ I wish him a happy birthday. He is quite old. There are a lot of people at this age who withdraw, relax and have a good time. He does a tough job. I think he should stop. André, who moreover admits being more of a sympathizer of donald trump.
Towards a candidacy in 2024?
The midterm elections were not the resounding failure predicted for the Democrats, who retained the Senate and did not lose the House of Representatives only a few seats away. What raise questions about the future of Joe Biden and a possible candidacy for 2024.
Is Biden’s age discussed in the Democratic camp? “ For now, it’s not on the carpet, but I believe it will come very soon, explains Jean-Eric Branaa, lecturer at the University of Paris II Panthéon Assas. But it will come more to the Republican Party where we see rather young wolves who put themselves forward: Ron DeSantis, 44, Nikki Haley, Glenn Youngkin. There are still a lot of young people, forty-somethings, fifty-somethings who are showing up and who should get started quickly. Age will therefore be a subject that will be highlighted. Especially since when Biden got started, Donald Trump made fun of him a lot. He also called him “Sleepy Joe”[Joe l’endormi, NDLR]. He had also made age a subject. It is very difficult today not to remember that. And his opponents will remember it for him.
Jean-Eric Branaa believes very little in a new candidacy of Joe Biden on the side of the Democratic Party: “ But it’s true that, if he ran again, we would have the same effect with a very strong foil and much younger candidates who would stand up immediately. But in reality, experience tells us that Democrats tend not to thwart the ambitions of a vice president when he has decided to go. However, the current vice-president is a Democrat. So I think the one with the biggest boulevard is Kamala Harris. »
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