Biden admits he ‘could drop dead tomorrow,’ asks voters to judge his ‘energy level’
On eve of his 80th birthday, US president says he ‘respects’ fate, though he insists his stamina and ‘passion’ remain up to the task
US President Joe Biden on Sunday admitted he could “drop dead tomorrow” but urged democratic voters to judge him on his energy levels rather than his age.
Asked during an interview with MSNBC to respond to voter concerns that he was too old for a second term, Biden said “I’m a great respecter of fate. I could get a disease tomorrow. I could, you know, drop dead tomorrow.”
But, he added, “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, who turns 80 next week, has faced scrutiny over a series of public gaffes, which some have seized on to claim that his cognitive abilities were on the decline. Biden, however, insisted that his stamina remains up to the task.
“I’m in good health. All my, everything physically about me is still functioning well, so you know, and mentally too,” he said.
The president encouraged voters to make their own assessment, and if they decided he was not up to the job, “then they should vote against me — not against me, [but] they should encourage me not to go. But that’s not how I feel,” Biden said.
Biden’s age played a minor role in the 2020 election campaign, despite Republican attempts to highlight what they claimed was Biden’s deteriorating health. A July poll conducted by The New York Times/Sienna College found that 26 percent of Democratic voters supported a second term for Biden.
Age was cited as the main reason for those opposing another term.
While claims of poor mental acuity have dogged Biden since the beginning of his presidency, a September slip-up in which he publicly called upon a congresswoman who had died the previous month increased the pressure on the Democratic Party, as the US gears up for mid-term elections next month.
“Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?” Biden called into the crowd at a conference, referring to the late Republican congresswoman Jackie Walorski, who was part of the bipartisan group behind the White House health conference on food and diet.
“I think she was going to be here,” Biden said.
Walorski had died in a car accident in August and Biden, the oldest president in history at 79 years old, issued a statement at the time saying he was “shocked and saddened.”
AFP contributed to this report.
