Age and health concerns about Joe Biden

Joe Biden was 78 years and 2 months old when he became the 46th President of the United States. At the time, he was the oldest president ever at inauguration, though this record was later broken by former President Donald Trump when he was inaugurated in 2025. Biden was the first president of the United States to turn 80 while in office.All of Joe Biden's Homes, In Photos" Town & Country. Retrieved January 20, 2021.

Former Republican president Donald Trump, voters and several members of the Democratic Party showed concern about his age, including his cognitive health. These issues became more talked about during and after the 2020 and 2024 election. Biden would ended his re-election campaign in July 2024.

Background
In February 1988, Biden, who was then a member of the U.S. Senate, had surgery to fix an aneurysm. While recovering, he had a pulmonary embolism. After a second aneurysm was surgically fixed in May of that year, Biden's recovery kept him away from the Senate for seven months.

2020 election
In 2018, when Biden was thinking running for president, he talked with friends, aides, and longtime supporters and asked if he was too old to run for the presidency. By 2019, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, CNN, The Atlantic, the Associated Press, and Slate all published articles on Biden's age and if he was healthy enough to run for office. That year, many of the people running against him for the Democratic nomination used his age against Biden, who was 76 at the time.

2024 election
In January 2024, a doctor gave Biden a close to 75% chance of living through a second term based on publicly available information about his health. This is about a 10% better survival chance when compared to other men his age.

In a February 2024 poll, Biden's age and health were major issues for 86% of voters generally, up from 76% earlier in 2020. According to another 2024 poll, most of those who voted for Biden in 2020 say they believe he is too old to be a good president. 

After finishing the investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents, a special counsel said that Biden would be able to show himself to a jury as an "elderly man with poor memory" and wrote that Biden had some memory problems. While criticizing the counsel's statement during the conference, Biden accidentally called the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as President of Mexico.

Biden's health concerns became a bigger issue after a poor performance by Biden during a debate against Trump in the 2024 presidential election. This led a many commentators and some Democratic lawmakers to pressure Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. After the debate, it was reported that a neurologist specializing in Parkinson's disease had visited the White House eight times in the previous eight months.

On July 17, 2024, Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He had mild symptoms, including a cough and a runny nose. Pictures of him looking sick while leaving from Air Force One on the way to isolation in Delaware had people expressing more concern about Biden's health.

Biden later ended his candidacy while saying that he would continue serving as president until the end of his term.

Biden continued to serve as president until his term ended on January 20, 2025. At that time, Biden was 82 years old.

Post-presidency health issues
In April 2025, it was said that First Lady Jill Biden and Steve Ricchetti, had the greatest amount of responsibility for hiding Biden's health issues from the public. There were accusations about members of Biden's cabinet, family and the Democratic Party about covering up the truth about Biden's health to the American public. After Biden left office, Jake Tapper wrote a book about Biden's health based on interviews from his staff and friends where he said Biden had health issues and barely met members of his cabinet.

In May 2025, Biden was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones. That same month, the House Oversight committee, led by Republican Representative James Comer, announced that it had begun an investigation into Biden's health and mental fitness while in office.

In June 2025, Barack Obama's former physician, Jeffrey Kuhlman, said in an interview that Biden's doctor should have given Biden a cognitive test during his final year as president because of his age and that the results would have helped the White House and the public understand whether Biden was able to serve another four years. That same month, comedian and actor Dana Carvey said that playing former President Biden during the 50th season of Saturday Night Live was a challenge because he believed that Biden "was compromised mentally."

References

Category:Joe Biden
Category:2020 United States presidential election
Category:2024 United States presidential election