Biden Tackles 'Aging Risk': "Trump Is as Old as I Am"

"Cannot Remember Own Wife's Name"

U.S. President Joe Biden appeared on a talk show and attacked his rival, former President Donald Trump, regarding his age and mental health. At 81 years old this year, President Biden mentioned the similarly elderly Trump, who is 77, in an effort to address the "age risk."

In the early hours of the 27th (local time), President Biden said on NBC's "Late Night" show about former President Trump, "He is about as old as I am, but he can't remember his own wife's name."

This appears to be related to social media claims that former President Trump called his wife Melania "Mercedes" during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event last weekend. However, some analyses suggest that Trump was referring not to Melania but to Mercedes Schlapp, a former senior advisor for strategic communications at the White House during his presidency and a member of the CPAC event organizers.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Biden also emphasized that "what matters is how old a person's mind is." Targeting former President Trump, he criticized, "He wants to take us back (to the past) on 'Roe v. Wade' (abortion rights). He wants to take us back (to the past) on broad issues that have become firmly established in America over 50 or 60 years."

Regarding former President Trump calling those arrested for the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot "patriots," Biden stated, "He thinks he can change the Constitution and just ignore parts of it," adding that Trump is "someone who talks about retaliation."

President Biden's age has become the biggest issue in this U.S. presidential election. It began earlier this month when a special counsel report described Biden as "an elderly man with poor memory but no ill intent."

As a result, concerns among Americans about whether the over-80 Biden is fit for re-election are growing. In an NBC poll conducted last month, about three-quarters of voters expressed worry about President Biden's age. Half of these respondents were Democratic supporters.