President Joe Biden privately admitted to feeling “tired” in the White House amid an ongoing debate over whether his age affects his ability to run the country.
Joe Biden Admitted Feeling Tired In The White House, New Book Claims – President Joe Biden privately admitted to feeling “tired” in the White House amid an ongoing debate over whether his age affects his ability to run the country.
The revelations come from a new book authored by Franklin Foer detailing President Biden’s tenure in the White House. Titled “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future,” the book will be released in the U.S. next week.
“His advanced years were a hindrance, depriving him of the energy to cast a robust public presence or the ability to easily conjure a name,” writes Foer.
“It was striking that he took so few morning meetings or presided over so few public events before 10 a.m. His public persona reflected physical decline and time’s dulling of mental faculties that no pill or exercise regime can resist.”
“In private, he would occasionally admit that he felt tired,” Foer adds.
While Foer does not cite a source for Biden’s reported private remarks, publisher Penguin Random House said the book is based on “unparalleled access to the tight inner circle of advisers who have surrounded Biden for decades.”
Joe Biden’s Age Already A Concern
At 77, Biden beat Donald Trump to become the oldest president-elect in U.S. history. Should he win a second term next year, Biden will be 86 by the time he leaves the White House for the final time on January 20, 2029.
The President’s age has long been a focus of Republican attack, with candidates such as Nikki Haley calling on voters to avoid “President Kamala Harris” should Biden be unable to complete a full second term.
Despite GOP frontrunner Donald Trump being 77 himself, concerns among Republicans – as well as the public – are lower according to polling data.
In an Associated Press/Norc Center for Public Affairs poll released this week, 77% of respondents said Biden was too old to effectively lead the country if re-elected.
Naturally, Republicans felt stronger on the issue with 89% reporting it as a concern, but, somewhat surprisingly, more than two-thirds of Democrats (69%) expressed similar views.
In the same poll, only 51% of respondents said Trump’s age would be a problem should he return to the White House, with just 29% of Republicans expressing that opinion.
Elsewhere In The Last Politician
The Guardian reported that Foer – a former editor of the progressive magazine New Republic – praises President Joe Biden’s experience in a political career spanning more than 50 years.
His chairmanship of Senate committees and vice presidency under Barack Obama has given him unique strengths in the Oval Office, according to the publication.
However, Joe Biden is hardly given universal praise in Foer’s book.
He claims that Biden’s oft-quoted public remarks contain gaffes due to “indiscipline and indecision” seen throughout his career, rather than the challenges of age.
Nevertheless, Foer writes that the 80-year-old Joe Biden has shown “wartime leadership” in his support of Ukraine, with his experience showing “the advantages of having an older president were on display.”
“It was his calming presence and his strategic clarity that helped lead the alliance to such an aggressive stance, which stymied authoritarianism on its front lines,” Foer continues. “He was a man for his age.”
