Joe Biden turned 81 on Monday, and the White House avoided any big birthday celebration so his age would not be a major headline.
Even so, reports started to leak that Biden insiders are very concerned about Biden falling, so they are taking measures to avoid anything embarrassing happening on TV.
Biden's age is something that Democrats have avoided speaking about until recently.
September was the first time we openly heard someone high-up in the Democrat Party voicing concern when Sharon Sweda, the leader of the Democratic Party in Lorain County, OH, just about blew up the Internet.
Sweda stated:
"He is in a period of his life where passing and death is imminent.
"We are all on a ticking clock. But when you're at his age or at Trump's age, that clock is ticking a little faster, and that's a concern for voters."
She was lambasted by the White House for her comments and ended up walking back them, explaining them away as a bad choice of words, while then offering her confidence in Biden.
Polling has been awful for Biden on this front, with an August Associated Press-NORC Poll showing that 69% of Democrats thought Biden was too old for office.
This started to raise concerns about some very high-profile Democrat talking heads, such as former Obama adviser David Axelrod and Democrat strategist James Carville.
During a recent MSNBC interview, Carville broached the subject, stating:
"So do doubts remain about the president's age? Yeah, I mean this – how could any sane person say that this is not an issue?"
Axelrod, who reportedly clashed with Biden quite frequently during the Obama administration, made a comment that aggravated Biden so much Joe called Axelrod a "pr**k" behind closed doors.
Axelrod had commented on recent polling at the time, stating:
"The one number in the polling that was concerning, and in the CNN poll that followed after The New York Times poll, had to do with age, and that is one thing you can't reverse no matter how effective Joe Biden is behind the scenes. In front of the camera, what he's projecting is causing people concerns, and that is worrisome."
After Biden made his comments, Axelrod did not back down.
Axelrod discussed Biden's comments with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, stating:
"I don't care about them thinking I'm a pr**k — that's fine. I hope they don't think the polls are wrong, because they're not."
He continued on, slamming what appears to be a failed strategy by the Biden campaign and DNC, stating:
"I think he has a 50-50 shot here, but no better than that, maybe a little worse.
"He thinks he can cheat nature here and it's really risky. They've got a real problem if they're counting on Trump to win it for them. I remember Hillary doing that, too."
Even Dowd called Biden out for his little temper tantrum, writing:
"The president's flash of anger indicates that he may be in denial, surrounded by enablers who are sugarcoating a grim political forecast."
While the White House denies it is publicly concerned, measures are reportedly being taken to protect Biden for looking his age on camera.
The biggest issue being addressed is Biden's slip and falls, which immediately created headlines due to his age.
Politico reported:
"People close to the president have discussed having him walk shorter distances while on camera. They've also advocated, at times, trading in formal shoes for more comfortable ones — both to make his stride seem less stiff, but also to reduce the risk of falls."
Frustration is brewing among top donors, who feel staffers are coddling Biden, likely due to his nasty temper. And if you have ever seen this in person, he can go off with the best of them when Biden gets aggravated or feels he is being overly criticized.
The report also addresses this, stating:
"Many donors are directly urging top campaign aides to go on offense, leaning even harder into Biden's age as proof of his wisdom in turbulent times. They are pushing for more humor about 'Grandpa Joe.'"
The problem, as I see it, is that Trump, while only a few years younger than Biden, clearly has more energy and is more cognizant than Biden.
Trump, of course, still has that rough edge about him, but he is not falling up steps or tripping over sandbags.
However, the one area of concern for Trump on this front is the mental gaffes that are starting to pile up, something that Governor Ron DeSantis has been trying to exploit to encourage voters to go young in the upcoming primary race.
The campaign has launched the "Trump Accident Tracker."
BREAKING: Today we are unveiling the ‘Trump Accident Tracker’ — a way of recording how long the former president can go without a workplace accident on the campaign trail.
Why is this needed? We’ll explain.
🧵 THREAD. pic.twitter.com/IgCiz3chPL
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 24, 2023
The DeSantis War Room has also started to post videos of Trump going off on bizarre rants, missing teleprompter feeds, and odd quips he has made…
Did you miss the Trump rally today? Here’s a quick recap:
(WARNING: There were several teleprompter issues) pic.twitter.com/1KkLhuQjK8
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 24, 2023
My guess is that once the GOP nominee is chosen, assuming it is Trump, the Biden campaign deploys the 2020 strategy of letting Biden surrogates do most of the work while hiding Biden as much as possible and only allowing him out for very short bursts.
Biden is okay for 15-20 minutes, but he clearly starts to struggle once he crosses that threshold. It won't quite be the Biden basement strategy, but I believe it will be really close.
Democrats are going to bank on Donald Trump hanging himself on the campaign trail and roll the dice in the hopes that Biden can pull this off again.
