Governor of Florida Ron De Santis (R) on Tuesday apparently hinted at the president Joe Biden and former president donald trump older than their ages, saying that the role of commander in chief “is not a job for someone who is 80 years old.”
Biden, the incumbent Democrat, would be 86 at the end of a potential second term, while Trump would be 82 at that time.
In a new interview, DeSantis said age is an “absolutely legitimate concern” for voters as we approach the 2024 presidential election cycle.
“The presidency is not a job for someone who is 80 years old,” DeSantis told “CBS Evening News.”
DeSantis explained that the position requires someone who can perform at 100%.
“We need an energetic president,” he said.
The Florida Republican added that he believes the Founding Fathers would have revisited the issue if they had known about the country’s aging leadership and set an age limit for many of those high-level positions within the government.
“I think Americans — if Biden is the Democratic nominee, I’m the Republican nominee — I think there will be many Americans who will want to see a generational handover,” he said.
However, DeSantis, 44, has so far failed to gain traction nationally or in the Republican primaries, where he trails Trump, the GOP front-runner, by nearly 40 percentage points in an average of national polls. compiled by FiveThirtyEight.
Still, while Biden has tried to come to terms with his age, even making jokes about it during appearances across the country, it remains an area of concern for Americans.
In a Wall Street Journal survey Conducted last month, 73% of respondents said Biden is too old to run for re-election. Only 47% of respondents said Trump, who is just three years younger than Biden, is too old to launch a White House bid.
But Democrats have continued to support Biden.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who was thought to have White House ambitions, dismissed those suggestions.
“The train has left the station,” Newsom told the New York Times. “We are all in. Stop talking. He’s not going anywhere. It’s time for all of us to get on the bandwagon and cheer up.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 83, who announced that will seek re-election to his House seat next year, has also defended Biden despite concerns about his age, predicting he will serve another term.
“In 15 months you will see Joe Biden re-elected as President of the United States with great pride,” she said.