BIDEN, TRUMP OLDEST TO WIN PRESIDENCY
Biden was the oldest person to win the US presidency at the time of his election in 2020. Trump, 78, broke that record when he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
Some prominent Democrats have recently acknowledged that it was an error to advance Biden as the 2024 nominee, given widespread concerns among voters about his age. Long before the debate last summer, Reuters/Ipsos polls showed a majority of Americans, including most Democrats, believed Biden was too old to serve a second term.
“It was a mistake for Democrats to not listen to the voters earlier,” Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday morning, before Biden’s diagnosis was announced.
Biden has kept a low profile since leaving office, making only a handful of public appearances, including an April speech in which he defended the Social Security Administration against Trump’s planned cuts.
He has also defended his legacy in interviews and rejected reporting in two new books that he suffered from cognitive decline during his last year in office.
“They are wrong,” he said earlier this month on ABC’s The View, referring to the books’ authors.
Biden’s diagnosis triggered an outpouring of supportive statements on Sunday from Democrats and Republicans alike.
“Joe is a fighter – and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” Harris said in a statement.
Biden lost a son, Beau Biden, in 2015 due to brain cancer.
In 2022, Biden revived an Obama-era programme known as Cancer Moonshot, seeking to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 per cent over the next 25 years.
