As Biden departs, Trump set to face questions over his age and acuity
With 78-year-old Donald Trump now certain to face a Democratic candidate younger than he is,
the Republican could have the tables turned on him over the questions of #age and mental #agility that he often sidestepped while Joe Biden was his opponent.
The age gap between Trump and any of his likely Democrat opponents
– Kamala Harris, 59; Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, 52; Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, 51
– could make him the sole focus of voters’ desire for a #generational #handover of power.
And without Biden’s often stumbling public appearances there's a fresh focus on Trump’s mental acuity and his frequently rambling, confused campaign speeches.
Last month, for example, Trump got the name of his own doctor wrong.
Previously he has made high-profile campaign trail #gaffes, in which he seemed to think Barack Obama was still president and mistook his arch Republican rival Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi.
Nearly 60% of US voters said last month that Biden should “definitely” or “probably” be replaced, while Trump’s favorability rating had risen to 40% since his hush-money conviction and the attempt on his life eight days ago. Harris’s favorability sits at around 39%.
Biden’s departure from the ticket upends several aspects of Republican’s calculations,
including that 🔸Trump the felon 🔸will now possibly have to debate Harris the former prosecutor in September
– if she receives the nomination.
The vice-president proved her debating skills in 2019 when she delivered a highly personal attack on Biden on the issue of race that he later described as “hurtful” and chilled relations between the Biden-Harris camps before she was named vice-president.
Political commentator Anthony Michael Kreis posted on Twitter/X soon after Biden’s announcement:
“I can’t believe the GOP is running an old guy for president. Yikes.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/22/election-trump-harris?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other