Donald Trump is making Joe Biden’s advanced age one of his main campaign arguments, portraying himself as an energetic leader in the face of a declining old man. But the reality is less contrasted: the Republican, who celebrates his 78th birthday on Friday, also shows notable signs of physical and mental slowdown.
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Almost every day, the team of the billionaire, presidential candidate in November, publishes videos of the Democratic president stumbling, stuttering, looking haggard or appearing disoriented during public events.
These extracts, edited and cut judiciously even if it sometimes distorts reality, are all illustrations according to them of Joe Biden’s incapacity to govern.
“His brain is nothing but mush at this point,” Jason Miller, one of Donald Trump’s closest advisers, said again on Thursday, commenting on a video of the 81-year-old president at the G7 in Italy.
Sharks and Sinatra
So many criticisms that could almost make us forget that Donald Trump, too, is no longer young.
Friday evening, the former leader will blow out his 78 candles during a large gathering in Florida.
“Join us in celebrating the birthday of the best president of all time,” reads the invitation card, urging guests to adorn themselves in the colors of the American flag.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are only three and a half years apart.
But “it is clear that there are notable physical differences” between the two men, underlines political scientist Matthew Foster, evoking, among other things, the hesitant and stiffened approach of the Democratic president.
The expert, however, points to the more spaced frequency of Donald Trump’s campaign meetings, his repetitions and his disjointed tirades, “which give him the air of an embarrassing old uncle”, and undoubtedly illustrate his own aging.
During a campaign meeting in Las Vegas on Sunday, the tempestuous septuagenarian launched into a very confusing story describing shark attacks, electric batteries and electrocutions — sparking mockery from the Democratic camp.
Joe Biden’s team called the speech “chaotic and messy.”
In recent months, Donald Trump has also alternately confused the Hungarian and Turkish leaders, alerted him to the fact that the world was heading towards a second, and not third, World War, and mentioned obscure exchanges with Frank Sinatra.
“When I lose control”
The Republican leader is also not subject to the same medical transparency requirements as his rival, the Democratic president.
As head of state, Joe Biden undergoes a battery of medical examinations each year, the results of which are communicated in great detail to the press by the White House physician.
Conversely, no details, or almost no details, have leaked for years on the state of health of Donald Trump, a claimed fan of fast food. In mid-November, the Republican simply published a short letter from his doctor stating that he was in “excellent” health, and that he had lost weight – without specifying how much.
At the beginning of January, the Republican assured during a meeting with his supporters that he had recently taken a cognitive test and had passed it “with flying colours”.
And to promise: “I will keep you informed when I lose control, I really think I will be able to tell you.”
“Not decisive”
Whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins in 2024, both would then be the oldest American president to take the oath of office.
But will this really matter to voters?
Matthew Foster, professor at American University, doubts it.
“The real question we have to ask ourselves is, is there a single person who is going to vote for Trump, just because he is younger and more energetic?” expert, convinced that debates on the economy, immigration, crime or abortion will carry much more weight.
In a fractured country, where the election could be decided by a few tens of thousands of votes, the age of the candidates “will not be the decisive factor”, he assures.
