Biden Rule of the Imperial Constitution of the Empire of Chawosauria

In the politics of the Empire of Chawosauria, the so-called **Biden Rule** is the insulting nickname for the constitutional age limit on public office by the Imperial Constitution of the Empire of Chawosauria, which states that no person above the age of 80 can run for or be acceded to public office. Named after the President of the United States at the time, Joe Biden, who by November 20, 2022 turning 80 on that day, was the oldest American to serve as President of the United States, which was a very controversial feet to accomplish for an American politician though not the first President to face questions about his age, during the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan faced similar questions about his age (by February 6, 1981, Reagan was 70) and it was an issue when Reagan ran for reelection in 1984, but Reagan was able to brush off the issue and he won reelection in the biggest landslide for a presidential election in U.S. political history, Reagan's landslide score was 525-13 in the electoral college and 58% of the popular vote.

Ironically, the Biden Rule is controversial itself in Chawosauria. Constitutional age limits on public office faced substantially serious allegations of ageism or age discrimination and it's a divisive issue with Chawosaurians with Chawosaurian polling firms such as *OneThousand* showing that over 96% of Chawosaurians have a deeply unfavorable opinion on political age limits entirely due to damning accusations of prejudice against the elderly, showing how divisive the issue of age limits on public office truly is. When it comes to approval/disapproval opinions, the same poll from BBC Chawosauria showed that 75% of Chawosaurians, a strong majority, disapprove of age limits in general, viewing it as discrimination. Meaning while Chawosaurians are willing to support the Biden Rule, it does not mean they approve of it.

The Biden Rule is most unpopular with Chawosaurian seniors and is polarizing among middle age Chawosaurians. It stands on good will among young Chawosaurians but they're not as politically active and that posed a threat to the Imperial Constitution when it stands for approval by voters in the 2023 Chawosaurian Constitutional Referendum, causing many of the constitution's supporters to avoid promoting the Biden Rule or distance the Biden Rule from the Imperial Constitution in general to keep it from hurting the constitution's prospects. Ultimately, the Imperial Constitution won the referendum by such a narrow plurality, the result was 40% against 39% of Chawosaurian voters who opposed the Imperial Constitution. The Imperial Constitution became law on July 1, 2023.

Since 2023, the Biden Rule had only gotten even more unpopular with the Chawosaurian general public, polls showing approval at all time lows, as low as below 10%, and there is a strong desire among the Chawosaurian public to have the Biden Rule reformed or repealed. It is universally speculated as of the reading of this article that the Biden Rule may not be law for long given how unpopular it is getting.

## Background

In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan became President of the United States and at the time he was the oldest person to serve such office, then in 2016, Trump narrowly beat Reagan's record but then Trump was dethroned as the oldest President by someone even older, Joe Biden, at age 78, by losing reelection to Biden himself in the 2020 presidential election. When Trump was President, there was barely any questions about his age, but given how old Biden is compared to Trump, Biden's age as he nears 80 became a dogging issue, with unhelpful signs of confusion and stuttering, which last part Biden had always struggled with. Mistakes made by Biden such as a disorderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, perceived inaction on Republican extremism in the state legislatures as they assault civil rights and liberties of Americans, as well as perceived inaction and inconsistency on inflation (which is when everything in the market is suddenly and unusually expensive). A potentially looming Biden reelection bid is bitterly unpopular in part due to age concerns.

However, with a stronger than expected showing in the midterm elections in 2022 and a hopeful upswing in the U.S. economy as inflation falls back by the end of the year, as well as new legislative success from August to the end of the year, Biden saw his poll numbers stabilizing mostly among impressed Democrats and nonpartisan liberals, which can be said Biden's victory in the midterms may be driving Biden's numbers up among Democrats.

## The Rule

Generally, the Imperial Constitution states no public office can be occupied by someone above the age of 80.

## Allegations of Age Discrimination

The Biden Rule is being constantly dogged by the controversy of potential ageism. That the idea that a person can be restricted based on age to hold public office doesn't sound exactly popular among Chawosaurians, and significant concern of ageism has become a common theme. Independent Checkers question whether they should enforce the Biden Rule based on similar concerns for ageism, and that they should just allow people like Prime Minister Jonathan Lachlan MacAlasdair VIII and Opposition Leader Sydney Lucas Webster to run for Prime Minister again in 2029, and allow Supreme Leader Shang Jong Parker to run again in the 2039 Chawosaurian direct election.

The issue of age limits has become a threat to the Imperial Constitution's prospects in the 2023 Chawosaurian Constitutional Referendum, with voters being potentially weary to elect age limits. Supporters sought to disassociate the Biden Rule from the Imperial Constitution while the Imperial Constitution's opponents seek to tie it to the Biden Rule, calling the Imperial Constitution contradictory for outlawing age discrimination in employment in Major Amendment I, while supporters of the Imperial Constitution say public office is national service, it is not employment, there's a difference between the two, and in Chawosauria, national service is meritocratic, not egalitarian.

## List of Imperial Leaders by Age

### Prime Ministers

Nobody can beat Frederick William Schwartz as the youngest person to become Prime Minister. In the race for who's the oldest person to become Prime Minister, at this point, Jonathan Lachlan MacAlasdair VIII, at 72 years old in 2022, assumed the office of Prime Minister, a position he originally held back in the 2000s when he was in his 50s. Theodore McClellan was the first person considered old to become Prime Minister, he was in his 60s throughout his tenure. A century later, Jonathan Sidney MacCarthy III, at 69-years-old about to be 70, assumed the role as Prime Minister and unexpectedly, he briefly served until his forced resignation in April 2020.

MacAlasdair's age was a concern for some, mostly because he looked pretty old, this is due to a lack of Chawosaurian blood and genetics, which gives a person an 120 year lifespan only if born with it.

## Prospects of Being Repealed

The Biden Rule is extremely unpopular with over 90 up to 95% of Chawosaurians believing age limits on public office is not appropriate nor necessary, as well as always over 95% of Chawosaurians disapprove of age limits on public office starting in 2023.

These are very good poll numbers and statistics for the political movement to repeal the Biden Rule. The Biden Rule stands on very weak ground, not only it is very unpopular, but also because it is highly vulnerable of being repealed because it is so unpopular with the Chawosaurian populace. Supporters of the Imperial Constitution very often ignore or refuse to acknowledge the Biden Rule either because they too don't agree with it or because they're too embarrassed to support it.

During the 2024 Chawosaurian elections, conservative leader Wendell Rawlings Burton made repealing the Biden Rule one of his top priorities, this gave Burton and his conservative candidates a major bump in the polls, a testament of how deeply unpopular the Biden Rule really is. This made some of the Socialist Coalition, the very people who implemented the Biden Rule, to grow concern and they too made removing the Biden Rule from the Imperial Constitution one of their key priorities, again, even though they were the ones who passed the Biden Rule into law.

Chawosaurian millennials and Gen Z supported the Biden Rule at first, but their support for it dramatically waned because the Biden Rule faced scathing accusations of ageism and age discrimination as well as sharpening criticism from older Chawosaurians. A poll from CNN Chawosauria showed that 88% of Chawosaurian millennials and 97% of Chawosaurian zoomers now say they regret their support for the Biden Rule.

## See also

* Imperial Constitution of the Empire of Chawosauria