Silly Season Returns with the “Biden is Old” Dogwhistle

That’s the subtext of every attack on Biden’s age: beware of Kamala.

by Bob Cesca

WASHINGTON, DC – We’re back here again. This week, there were no fewer than four political columnists who all chose to concern-troll President Biden about his age, making it okay for voters to do the same thing – legitimizing obvious ageism with very little evidence beyond Biden’s birthday to back it up.

There was David Ignatius who wrote something for The Washington Post. There was Eric Levitz for The Intelligencer, Josh Barro for his newsletter, and Republican operative Derek Hunter for The Hill. All published on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week – am I being paranoid or is that weird? Add Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe to the mix, saying on Wednesday morning he’s talked to many Democrats who think Biden’s “too old to run.” Oh, and Politico published a compilation piece summarizing all of the above.

I guess I’m part of that list now, but only in reaction to what’s already been published.

Funny thing is, we’ve been here before – and recently. I’m not talking about Biden, I’m talking about Hillary Clinton. Throughout the 2016 election cycle the conservative entertainment complex and many stooges in the traditional press insisted that the former secretary of state was on death’s door and, naturally, she was hiding this allegedly secret illness. Because she’s Hillary. The whole thing reached new levels of dumb when she lost her balance during a 9/11 commemoration ceremony due to a bout of pneumonia.

Today, she’s alive and well, with no sign of any debilitating health issues.

Paul Waldman published an excellent reaction piece to all of this today. (Add him to the list.) Waldman correctly noted that Biden’s voice occasionally sounds old, but that doesn’t mean he’s cognitively old or incapable of processing the stressful and complicated work of the presidency. In fact, when Biden is delivering a loud speech to a large crowd, raising his voice to make a point, the “old” sound of his voice disappears and he sounds like he always has.

The truth is if Biden were napping during cabinet meetings or was generally disengaged in the White House, we’d hear about it through leaks to the press. We always do. It happened during Ronald Reagan’s second term. But nothing about Biden. In fact, everything we’ve observed about both foreign trips, legislative negotiations, and policymaking indicates that Biden is fully engaged. How else has the administration been able to win so often, including bipartisan legislation on infrastructure and guns, of all things. The only way that happens is with Biden’s 50 years of experience in that town.

All told, there’s no indication from his job performance that Biden’s age is showing – other than gaffes, but hell, Biden’s been gaffe-prone for as long as I’ve been aware of him.

Yes, 69 percent of Democratic voters in the latest AP-NORC poll said Biden’s too old to run again. And guess what? Many of those voters have been suckered into repeating Fox News talking points. Two reasons why Fox News makes a big deal about Biden’s age: 1) childish payback because Democrats made a big deal about Trump’s age and cognitive issues (“man, woman, camera, TV, etc”), and 2) because the network is intentionally scaring its audience about the possibility of an angry Black woman president. That’s the subtext of every attack on Biden’s age: beware of Kamala. In other words, “Biden is old” is a dogwhistle to scare racist white people.

Coincidentally, most of the articles I cited here go into great depth about how Biden should at least replace Vice President Harris – because, they say, Biden desperately needs a white insurance policy to ameliorate panic attacks among racists, misogynists, and Kamala-haters who won’t vote for Biden knowing that if he dies, she’ll be president. That’s what they’re saying, including David Ignatius who should know better. It’s almost as if they’re goading the president into pissing off Black voters by suggesting he replace the vice president with a white alternative – either Gretchen Whitmer or Gavin Newsom. Not one suggestion for a Black running mate.

Not to diminish the ridiculousness of it, but I get when news media columnists stumble into repeating Fox News’s racist dogwhistles. But come on, Democratic voters. Stop it. You’re playing their game, which is exactly what they want. 

On the other hand, there’s a depressing truth in the cynicism of the “Biden is old” attack. Republicans and Fox News showrunners know that American voters are easily duped into prioritizing silly season politics over substance. Joe Biden has presided over nearly full American employment, with record job creation. Inflation has been cut from 9 percent to 3 percent on its way to 2 percent. He cut child poverty from 16 percent to 5 percent thanks to the American Rescue Plan. (The expanded child tax credit has since expired thanks to Joe Manchin and Republicans, raising child poverty to 12 percent.) I posted a comprehensive list of Biden’s accomplishments here. But Biden is old so none of that matters, I guess. Biden’s would-be opponent, Donald Trump, incited an insurrection at the Capitol, he engaged in a racketeering conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 election, due to his incompetence 400,000 Americans died from COVID during his final year in office, and he’s been indicted on 91 felony counts. For starters. Oh, and if he wins in 2024, it’s very likely he won’t leave office, ending American democracy. But once again, Biden could end up losing in spite of all that because too many Democratic voters think he’s old. The only way to define this is utter madness.

One last thing: back in 2019, I was briefly worried about Joe Biden’s age when I read the headline: Biden's eye appears to fill with blood during climate change town hall. I thought to myself, this is the guy we’re nominating to run against Trump to save democracy? I wasn’t sure he could do it, and you know what? I was dead wrong. He not only defeated Trump, but he picked up the traditionally red states of Georgia and Arizona and then proceeded to rack up a laundry list of historic accomplishments. I underestimated Dark Brandon and I won’t make that mistake again.

Silly season aside, when someone shows me evidence that the president is incapable of handling the work because of his age, I will reconsider. But for now, as I’ve said many times before: I’m not at all concerned about Biden’s age, but I’m definitely concerned about voters who are concerned about Biden’s age. Let’s not allow ageism, racism, and misogyny to kill democracy.

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