President Joe Biden brushed off concerns about his age after “Late Night” host Seth Meyers told him that it is “a real concern for American voters.”
Meyers asked Biden, who appeared on the show to mark its 10th anniversary, about a recent report from special counsel Robert Hur that detailed the president’s handling of classified documents. The report noted that in a five-hour interview with the special counsel, Biden appeared to forget when his vice presidency began and ended as well as the date of his late son’s death. Biden pivoted from Meyers’ question to talk about former president Donald Trump, who seems likely to be his opponent in November 2024. (RELATED: Biden, Not Special Counsel, Reportedly First Brought Up Son’s Death In Interview)
“Some documents recently leaked, some classified documents. And this isn’t a gotcha show but I do want to ask about it, that says you are currently 81 years old,” Meyers began.
“Who the hell told you that?” Biden joked in lines that appeared to be scripted. “That’s classified!”
“All jokes aside,” Meyers continued. “According to recent polling, this is a real concern for American voters, how do you address that concern going forward as you come up to the 2024 election?”
“Well, a couple things. Number one, you gotta take a look at the other guy, he is about as old as I am but he can’t even remember his wife’s name,” Biden responded, referring to Trump who is 77 years old.
“Number two, it is about how old your ideas are. Look this is a guy that wants to take us back, he wants to take us in Roe v. Wade. He wants to take us back on a whole range of issues that are 50, 60 years. That have solid American positions. And I really mean this sincerely, I think it is about the future and every single thing we’ve done, we’ve got some good things done,” Biden added.
The special counsel report renewed concerns about the president’s fitness for office. Seventy-six percent of American voters are worried about Biden’s age and health ahead of the 2024 election, according to a Feb. 6 NBC poll.
The concern of Biden’s age has also surrounded conversations of the president’s interactions with the press. The president recently opted out of a traditional end-of-year press conference and ducked a prime-time Super Bowl interview. (RELATED: Forget Basement Campaign — It’s Been A Whole Basement Presidency For Joe Biden)
Compared to his predecessors, Biden has participated in fewer interviews with media outlets than his predecessors, according to NBC News. The president has done 86 interviews with media outlets since his 2021 inauguration, an NBC News count shows. In comparison, Trump and former President Barack Obama did far more interviews at the same point in their presidency, each doing 300 and 422 interviews, respectively.