AS the 2024 US presidential election looms, the age of the candidates has once again become a major topic of discussion. On the Democratic side, Joe Biden’s decision to seek re-election at the age of 80 has raised concerns about his ability to handle the rigors of the presidency, as well as his electability. Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Donald Trump’s advanced age – he will be 77 in two months – has also been an issue. But his age has not received as much public attention as that of Biden. This may be ps because Trump looks more active than his riva despite the fact that he would also be in his mid-80s by the end of a potential second term. The Republican leader, on the other hand, gets more media attention because of his legal troubles and questionable fitness for office. He was twice impeached by the House of Representatives.
Biden is already the oldest president in US history, and would be even older by the end of a potential second term. But at the same time, it’s hard to deny that he has been an effective president thus far, with significant accomplishments on issues ranging from Covid-19 relief to climate change. Besides, he has been able to rally the West against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
But Trump, despite his ongoing legal troubles and divisive rhetoric, remains a popular figure among the rightwing support base in the US. He is viewed as the best hope for reclaiming the White House in 2024. This is where Biden’s significance lies. The incumbent president is hailed for defeating Donald Trump in 2020, which is no small feat. He is seen as a “Trump-slayer,” and therefore imagined as a more effective candidate for the Democrats.
Other younger democratic aspirants, although capable, don’t have the same combination of experience, pragmatism, and electability as Biden. That said, with the US still being the world’s pre-eminent superpower, a US president also looms large over the world. His policies and even his personal inclinations shape the geopolitics. For example, Trump during his term was more slanted towards India than Biden – although there has been no major policy shift in so far as US ties with India. Biden, however, has also tried to strike a working relationship with Pakistan in his bid to wean it away from China. However, for now, the upcoming eighteen months promise to be a riveting spectacle of the two chronically old contenders slugging it out in the US presidential race.
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