Biden turns 80, some Democrats see age as issue for potential 2024 bid

President Biden has turned 80, becoming the first octogenarian to hold the office, as he mulls a re-election bid and faces fresh concerns about his age among voters and some Democratic officials.

Jill Biden has posted pictures to her Twitter account showing President Joe Biden's 80th birthday celebrations.

Joe Biden turned 80 on Sunday, becoming the first octogenarian to hold the office, as he mulls a re-election bid and faces fresh concerns about his age among voters and some Democratic officials.

Mr. Biden, who had plans to celebrate with a family brunch, was the oldest president to assume office and, if re-elected, would be nearly a decade older than the oldest second-term president, Ronald Reagan, who was 73 years old at his 1985 swearing-in. Mr. Biden’s recent verbal miscues have added to concerns from some in his party about his age, and polls show many voters also have doubts.

He said during his 2020 presidential campaign that he viewed himself as a bridge to the next generation of Democratic Party leaders. Some lawmakers and party officials say that Mr. Biden should step aside for that new group.

“I think he’s done a wonderful job of being the bridge that he promised to be,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D., Minn.). “The issue is that it is just time for a new generation of leaders to participate.”

The president and his allies say they view the Democrats’ stronger-than-expected performance in the midterm elections as a sign that voters support Mr. Biden’s agenda and a reflection of his ability to stitch together a successful coalition of backers for the party. Mr. Biden said recently that it remains his intention to run again. He is expected to make a decision by early next year. High-ranking Democrats, including departing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), have already said they would back him.

Jill Biden and President Joe Biden celebrate his 80th birthday.

“Tom Brady won a Super Bowl when he was like 43,” said Larry Drake, chairman of the Rockingham County Democrats in New Hampshire. “I think we have to reassess our views of aging and all that.”

Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said Mr. Biden has had a successful legislative record in his first two years in office, and he pointed to the midterms outcome and a multicountry foreign trip the president took over the past week as additional signs he is doing his job well.

A Wall Street Journal poll released shortly before the midterms found a majority of voters—55%—disapproved of Mr. Biden’s overall job performance, compared with 43% who approved, though 85% of Democratic voters said they approved of Mr. Biden.

Mr. Biden’s remarks after the midterms and during the trip, however, also highlighted his misstatements. He referred to Cambodia, the first stop on his Asia trip, as Colombia, and before leaving, he mixed up the Ukrainian city of Kherson with the Iraqi city of Fallujah during a press conference before correcting himself.

Republicans are expected to make his age an issue if he runs in 2024. More than half of the electorate said Mr. Biden lacks “the mental capacity to effectively serve as president,” according to VoteCast, a poll of more than 94,000 voters. The poll was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and Fox News.

Of the voters who backed Democratic candidates, 20% said Mr. Biden didn’t have the mental capacity, compared with 78% who said he did.

Some 86% of Americans said they believe the cutoff for serving as president should be age 75 or younger, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

President Joe Biden's 80th birthday celebrations including him blowing out candles on "Joe’s favorite coconut cake!"

Former President Donald Trump, 76, recently announced that he would run again for president in 2024. Mr. Biden sees himself as the best candidate to take on Mr. Trump because he beat him in 2020. The president’s allies also believe his age and gaffes become less of a concern if Mr. Trump, who is known to repeat falsehoods and make politically problematic statements, wins the GOP nomination.

Mr. Biden has dismissed concerns about his age, saying recently to those who have doubts: “Watch me.”

Mr. Biden’s longtime doctor, Kevin O’Connor, said last year that the president’s gait had noticeably stiffened owing to age but that he “remains fit for duty.” Mr. Bates said the president would get another physical in the coming months.

In June, Mr. Biden took a tumble from his bicycle during a ride near his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del. He said his foot got caught in the bike’s toe clip. Later in the summer, his positive test for Covid-19, along with a rebound case, forced him to remain in isolation for a period.

Last month, he mispronounced the name of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as “Rasheed,” and he incorrectly said that he got his student-debt proposal signed into law, when he had approved the loan-forgiveness program by executive order. The White House said he was referring to the Inflation Reduction Act, which they said created room for other priorities by reducing the federal deficit.

During a September speech about his plan to end hunger, Mr. Biden asked whether Rep. Jackie Walorski (R., Ind.), who was killed in a car accident the previous month, was in attendance. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t acknowledge that Mr. Biden had misspoken.

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Liano Sharon, a Democratic National Committee delegate from Michigan, said he thinks the president has “lost a step.”

“You can see the differences between how he used to be and how he is now,” said Mr. Sharon, who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

The president’s allies point to Mr. Biden’s previously calling himself a “gaffe machine” to show that his errors are part of a long pattern rather than reflective of his age.

“Like right now, I’m trying to think of a word, and I miss it,” said Rep. Juan Vargas (D., Calif.), who is 61 years old. “Everybody does that. I mean, I gotta tell you, I think he’s all there.”

Some Democrats declined to weigh in, saying it was up to Mr. Biden to decide whether to run again. Mr. Sanders, a two-time presidential candidate, has said he would not run if Mr. Biden seeks re-election. An open Democratic primary, however, could see several candidates jump in, possibly Vice President Kamala Harris or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who recently won re-election.

John Paul Mejia, spokesman for the Sunrise Movement, a climate-focused group that helps turn out younger voters, said the group hadn’t yet decided whether to call on Mr. Biden to run or step aside. They are supportive of some of his policies, but want more climate initiatives. High turnout among younger voters played an important role for Democrats in the last two midterms.

“The only way to overcome [age] and the only way to build that social trust among our generation is by passing progressive policies,” Mr. Mejia said.

Asked if Mr. Biden should run for re-election, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D., Mass.) was noncommittal. “Joe Biden has always done what’s best for the country,” he said.

Sarah Mahler, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Washoe County, Nev., said she doesn’t feel strongly about another run by Mr. Biden.

“I’m kind of neutral on it,” she said. “If there are other people who want to throw their hat in the ring, that’s the Democratic process.”

The Wall Street Journal