From the earliest moments of the night, President Joe Biden’s biggest political weakness — his age and perceived frailty — became a clear liability on the debate stage Thursday.
In a particularly low point for the president, Biden seemingly lost his train of thought while responding to a question about the national debt, pausing and trailing off into a comment about finally “beat[ing] Medicare.”
Donald Trump jumped on this flub when the CNN moderators turned to him, quipping that Biden had “beat Medicare to death.”
While Biden, 81, gained steam as the debate went on, and was clearly well-prepared to respond to both the questions and Trump’s claims on the stage — backing up his answers with stats and fact-checking the former president on the spot — his hoarse voice and quiet demeanor (which his campaign chalked up to a previously undisclosed cold) play into the concerns many Americans have about his age.
Though Trump is also no spring chicken at 78, he appeared much more lively and spry on the debate stage, and voters typically report feeling less concerned about his age.
To wit: in a poll from The New York Times and Siena College from June 20 to 25, just 16% of registered voters said that Trump’s age “is such a problem that he is not capable of handling the job of president,” while a whopping 45% said the same about Biden, including 15% of Democrats.
