Biden is Old, and It Doesn't Matter

I don’t think the concerns about Biden’s age are legitimate. He’s extraordinarily healthy for a man of 81 years. All this concern about Biden’s age is just Hillary Clinton’s emails all over. Behind the bad press is racism and sexism; the press is hinting that – horrors! – we might end up with a black woman as president.

We hear a lot about Biden’s age and nothing about his good health, while we hear almost nothing about Trump’s age of 77 and obvious poor health. Especially, Fox News and the further right tell his followers nothing about Trump’s obvious ill-health and questionable mental status. According to Social Security’s actuarial tables, Biden’s life expectancy is 7.25 years. But the actuarial tables include people at all levels of health. Biden is active and healthy and likely to beat those odds. He has a good chance of living into his 90s. According to one study, the odds of someone Biden’s age developing dementia in the next five years is about 15% but, as with the life expectancy study, that study’s data includes both healthy and unhealthy people. As the published medical report shows, Biden is exceptionally healthy for a man of 81 years. Especially, his cholesterol levels are extraordinarily low, which means his risk of cerebrovascular disease is low. His odds of dementia are probably in the low single digits. I worry more about falls – he does have gait issues – and covid.

With Trump it’s hard to tell if he’s demented or he just doesn’t care what he’s saying, but he seems to be showing signs of dementia. From his appearance I suspect vascular disease and its associated stroke and dementia risk. Unlike Biden, there is much cause to be concerned about Trump’s age and health. He is the sort who, like Reagan, would hold on to power long after he ought to relinquish it. There is also cause to be concerned about his vice-presidential pick; if, as is likely, it is some premillenialist evangelical, we could end up with a religious fanatic in the Presidency. Biden is old, exceptionally healthy, and shows no signs of dementia; Trump is old, unhealthy and concealing it, and is likely demented. The media, as usual, are craven and wrong.