Trump and Biden were asked about their ages. They argued about ...
Questions about the advanced ages of President Biden and former president Donald Trump loomed large during Thursday night’s debate, but when given an opportunity to respond, their answers devolved into personal insults and a squabble about a sport beloved by many a retiree — golf.
Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, are making history as the two oldest major-party candidates in the United States to seek the presidency. They are also both at least 16 years older than the median age of world leaders.
When Biden — the first octogenarian to serve as president of the United States — was asked by CNN debate moderator Dana Bash how he would respond to concerns about being well into his 80s during his second term, he acknowledged that he spent half of his career “being criticized” for being too young in politics “and now I’m the oldest.”
“This guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent,” Biden said, referring to Trump. “Look at the record, look what I’ve done. I’ve turned around a horrible situation he left me.”
A raspy Biden then proceeded to speak about job gains during his presidency and about his administration’s push to reinvigorate domestic production of computer chips — one of the largest industrial development programs the federal government has ever administered.
After Biden concluded his statement, Bash pointed out that he had 40 more seconds left to fill, and the president proceeded to rebuff “the idea that somehow we are this failing country. I’ve never heard a president talk like this before.”
Asked a similar question about concerns over his advanced age, Trump pointed out that he “aced” cognitive tests, later claiming that one doctor “said he’d never seen anybody ace them.” The former president also said he feels like he’s in “very good shape” and “probably a little bit lighter” than he was 25 or 30 years ago.
“I’d like to see him take one. Just one,” Trump said to Biden about the cognitive tests.
The former president cited his recent wins on the green as a sign of the state of his health.
“I just won two club championships — not even senior — two regular club championships,” Trump said. “You have to be quite smart, and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way. … He challenged me to a golf match. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”
“You can see he is 6-5 and only 225 pounds,” Biden said in response to Trump, an apparent jab at the former president’s physique. During his White House physical in 2020, Trump measured 6-feet-3 and weighed in at 244 pounds — a body mass index categorized as medically obese. When Trump was processed at an Atlanta jail in August on charges that he illegally sought to reverse his defeat in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, his booking record declared him 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, although it’s unclear how those numbers were collected and if they are reliable.
“I never said that,” Trump was heard saying off the mic.
“Look, I’d be happy to have a driving contest with him. I got my handicap, which when I was vice president, down to a 6,” Biden claimed. “And by the way, I told you before, I’m happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it?”
Trump called Biden’s claim about his handicap “the biggest lie … I’ve seen your swing. I know your swing. Let’s not act like children, Joe.”
“You are a child,” Biden responded.
