Throughout history, there have been a plethora of leaders and political figures who were quite old. They used their age as an advantage, claiming that they were much more experienced and knowledgeable than other political opponents. Nowadays, people are really starting to take age into consideration when considering what political figure to potentially vote for in the upcoming elections. To take a quick look at the top three oldest United States presidents when in office, Joe Biden is currently 80, Ronald Reagan was 77 at the end of his second term, and Donald Trump was 74 at the end of his term.

Ronald Reagan was constantly asked about his age being a problem when he was running for president. He consented to periodic medical examinations and said that he would resign from being president if he began showing signs of being senile. This action showed to the American people that Reagan was aware of his old age and was actively taking measures to help ensure his health. Love or hate Ronald Reagan, these actions helped confirm to the American people that he is mentally fit to be president.

Now in 2024, we have the ability to go online and see a wide array of videos of Joe Biden displaying the toll of age on declining mental functions. Ever since Biden entered the oval office, he has been dealing with accusations of him being unfit to run a country due to the state of his mental health. He has responded to some of these accusations by the mainstream media to help instill confidence in the people in him. I do not personally watch these press releases he makes addressing his mental health because he makes me keep questioning his mental ability to run a country. There are countless videos of him rambling about seemingly nothing important during press releases. These videos will typically start with Joe Biden talking about something important, and then he will start rambling about something that happened years ago. It is quite entertaining to listen to.

Now you may be wondering why there is no age limit to be president of the United States of America. First, the only requirements to be president is 35 years of age, be a citizen of the United States of America, and have lived in the US for 14 years. Well, to have an age limit for presidents would actually require another amendment. This would be a long and lengthy process that would most likely not lead to another amendment being created. Knowing that an actual age limit for presidency is out of the picture, what is being done to address the issue of age in political candidates? Not much at the moment unfortunately. The only real thing being done is that more and more Americans are agreeing that age is an issue in presidential elections. 

I personally think that it is great that Americans are becoming more and more concerned about the age of the candidates. I would like to see something be done to address the issue of age in presidential candidates. There is plenty of compelling research showing the effect of age on someone’s ability to run a country. The people are really not looking forward to a likely repeat of the 2020 elections. What do you think should be done to properly address the issue of age on political figures?