Commentary: Duel in the sunset – VG

Two old men prepare for a final duel.

That’s a comment. The comment expresses the writer’s position

The majority of Americans say they want new presidential candidates. Many are calling for a generational change. They probably have to wait at least four years.

Joe Biden, 80, is likely to announce soon that he is running for re-election in 2024. For Donald Trump, 76, campaigning began a long time ago.

Biden is already the oldest president in American history. He was 78 years old when he was installed as president. If Biden is elected for another four years, he can celebrate his 86th birthday at the White House. Before him, Trump held the record for the oldest. He was 70 years old when he was sworn in, and was one year older than Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Has aging become a problem? The United States Constitution requires that the president be 35 years of age or older. There is no upper age limit.

When Ronald Reagan ran for re-election in 1984, he was asked in a televised debate if, at 73, he was too old to be president.

I don’t want to make age a problem in this election campaign. I do not wish to exploit my opponent’s youth and inexperience for political purposes.

It was an example of Reagan humor. Even the younger competitor, Walter Mondale, laughed. Reagan won in a landslide.

Trump and Biden are about the same age. But it is Biden who is constantly asking the same question: Is he too old for the most demanding job in the world?

Each year, the White House publishes a detailed report on the president’s health. Biden was thoroughly examined by doctor Kevin O’Connor in February. He noted that the president suffers from a “stiff gait” after a previous fracture of his foot.

Biden became rigid. Sometimes he stumbles, whether in the literal sense or in his sayings. But it is nothing new for Biden to talk so much. He also did it in his younger years.

O’Connor concluded that Biden is “a healthy and energetic 80-year-old man who is able to successfully carry out his duties as president, including heading the government, head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.”

Nikki Haley, 51, the former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, is trying to become the Republican presidential nominee. It has suggested that all politicians over the age of 75 be required to take a test to check their mental aptitude. In this case, it would apply to both Trump and Biden.

Donald Trump bragged that he took a cognitive test when he was president and that he passed it brilliantly. Fox News’ Chris Wallace told Trump he took the same test and it wasn’t difficult at all.

– They have a picture and ask: what is it. Then there is an elephant.

Trump did not agree. Yes, the first questions were easy. But the last five questions were “extremely difficult.”

– I bet you can’t do the last five. I can guarantee you that Joe Biden could not answer these questions.

Trump had undergone the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test that can detect mild cognitive impairment.

As an example of difficult questions, Trump stated that he had to repeat the words: person, woman, man, camera, television. He said he got bonus points for saying the words in the correct order. After about 15 minutes into the examination, he had to repeat the words.

According to Trump, those who took the test were excited:

– They said it was great. How did you manage this? I said that because I have a good memory. Because I am knowledgeable.

Trump believes that Biden is not present enough epistemologically. He has claimed this for several years. But this claim is not documented as when Trump continued to insist that he actually won the 2020 election.

Biden has been in Northern Ireland and Ireland since last week. He noted that it had been 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement, which gave conflict-torn Northern Ireland a tenuous peace. He met prime ministers and local chiefs, as well as distant Irish relatives. Somehow, he started campaigning. There are said to be more than 36 million Americans who identify as Irish Americans. Biden is one of them. He needs your votes.

Trump has also had a busy week, with several cases in the judiciary.

He sued his former lawyer and fixed up Michael Cohen for NOK 500 million. In an entirely different matter, he asked the court in New York for a delay. E.J. Carrolls has filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump. She says he raped her in the fitting room in the ’90s. He says she is lying.

On Friday, Trump pleaded guilty to a seven-hour trial in a civil fraud case against his business operations.

Trump said this week in an interview with Fox News that many in the Manhattan courtroom wept when he was recently indicted on 34 counts in a criminal case involving, among other things, kickbacks for a pornographic actor. They were not tears of joy. Looks like they begged him to apologize.

In the same interview, Trump said that Vladimir Putin is very smart, that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is wonderful, and also handsome, and that the leaders of Saudi Arabia are great people.

This is not the first time Trump has expressed his admiration for authoritarian leaders. A bigger problem with Trump than his age is everything he says and does.

Many polls show that the majority of American voters say no thanks to both Biden and Trump in 2024. But Trump is the favorite to win the Republican nomination. Everything indicates that Biden is running for re-election. This would be a replay that few people would want.