Just weeks shy of his 95th birthday, former President Jimmy Carter says he couldn’t have managed the most powerful office in the world at 80 years old. He didn’t mention any names, but his remarks turned all eyes toward two of politics’ more elderly election hopefuls.
Age has been a flashpoint for some critics of candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Both would turn 80 during their terms if elected. Biden is 76. Sanders is 78.
“I hope there’s an age limit,” Carter said with a laugh as he answered audience questions during his annual report at the Carter Center in Atlanta. “If I were just 80 years old, if I was 15 years younger, I don’t believe I could undertake the duties I experienced when I was president.” Earlier this year, President Carter became the longest-lived chief executive in American history.
Carter’s observation came in response to a jovial question about whether he had considered running in 2020—since he’s still constitutionally allowed another term. The 39th president left office in 1981 at the age of 56 after losing his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan.
President Reagan served two terms and left office as the oldest sitting president in history at 77. Either Biden or Sanders would be older upon inauguration than Reagan was on his final day in the Oval Office.
At 73, President Donald Trump is a record setter too. He eclipsed Reagan’s mark as the oldest newly elected president in history and would become the oldest president to be reelected if he wins again.
President Carter turns 95 on October 1. He says the Oval Office requires a president “to be very flexible with your mind”—particularly on foreign affairs. “At 95, it’s out of the question. I’m having a hard time walking.”
Should age be a consideration for a U.S. president? Can you think of any exceptions to your ideas?
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. — Proverbs 23:22
(Former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter talk about the future of The Carter Center and their global work during a town hall last week in Atlanta. Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
