President Joe Biden and his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, will soon be the two oldest candidates to secure the nominations for the country’s major political parties.
CNN’s Dana Bash asked the pair about their respective ages at the end of a potential second term in office — Biden will be 86 upon completion, Trump 82 — and if voters should be concerned that they will both be octogenarians during Thursday night’s presidential debate in Atlanta.
“First of all, I spent half of my career being criticized for being the youngest person in politics,” Biden said. “I was the second-youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate. Now, I’m the oldest. This guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent.”
“Look at my record, look at what I’ve done,” the president added. “I’ve turned around the horrible situation he left me.”
Trump, for his part, went on to boast about several cognitive and physical tests he’s taken, including one he said was administered in 2018 that was designed to test for early signs of memory loss. He has regularly mentioned the tests during his own attacks on Biden’s age during the campaign.
“I took two cognitive tests. I aced them, both of them, as you know,” Trump said. “We made it public. He took none. I’d like to see him just take one, a real easy one. Go through the first five questions, he couldn’t do it.”
The creator of the test, however, has said Trump’s assessment of the exam didn’t line up with what it included.
The former president, who turned 78 earlier this month, went on to celebrate his personal health during the debate, saying he thinks he’s in “very good shape.”
“I feel that I’m in as good a shape as I was 25-30 years ago,” Trump said. “Actually, I’m probably a little bit lighter.”
