AOC insists Biden is ‘one of the most successful presidents’ as she downplays age concerns
Progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez downplayed concerns over President Biden’s age — and even insisted he is “one of the most successful presidents in modern American history.”
In an interview with CNN Tuesday evening, the lawmaker pointed out that Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, is 77 years old himself.
“I think right now, when it comes to the president’s age, folks, are talking about how he’s 81,” said Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), 34.
“But we have to look at, first of all, Donald Trump is around the same age. They could have gone to high school together. And beyond that, Donald Trump has 91 indictments.”
Ocasio-Cortez then threw all her support behind the octogenarian leader, offering him high praise.
“I know who I’m going to choose — it’s going to be one of the most successful presidents in modern American history,” she said, affirming that Biden will be the Democratic nominee.
“[He] passed the inflation reduction that got us the American Rescue Plan that ensured that we could pass one of the largest federal investments in climate change in US history.”
Anxiety over Biden’s age was turbocharged last week by special counsel Robert Hur’s bombshell report that suggested the president was beset by “diminished faculties” and documented numerous instances of forgetfulness.
Hur ultimately cleared Biden of wrongdoing regarding his handling of classified documents, citing precedent, the president’s cooperation, and the specter of a jury being reticent to convict a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”
Biden and his allies vehemently fired back at Hur, a Trump-appointed former US attorney for the district of Maryland, and contended that the chief executive’s mental acuity remains sharp. A lawyer for Biden present for their five-hour interview also strenuously denied Hur’s characterizations of the president’s memory.
Still, polls have shown that voters are concerned. An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday found that a whopping 86% of Americans believe Biden is too old to complete another term.
Ocasio-Cortez’s defense of Biden’s age also came as Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi (D-NY) cast some aspersions on the issue, telling a local station prior to his victory Tuesday night of Biden, “The bottom line is, he’s old.”
While taking note of the electoral threat posed to Biden in the general election by progressive challengers such as left-wing candidate Cornell West, the progressive darling underscored the stakes of the 2024 election.
“If Donald Trump is elected president of the United States, we do not know if there will be a verifiable next election that has integrity,” she said, referencing the Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.
“It is not a joke. It is not a game. We need to protect our democracy and ideally, it’s going to be on progressive values.”
Early in her career, Ocasio-Cortez made a name for herself by running aggressively to the left of the Democratic establishment.
She had backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 82, over Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary and has been critical of the president’s approach to the war in Israel.
Last month, for example, she slammed the Biden administration’s decision to halt funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency after reports identified staffers with ties to Hamas.
Biden is already the oldest president in the country’s history and would be 86 by the time he hypothetically finishes a second term.
Should Trump win and serve out a full term, he will narrowly surpass Biden as the oldest commander-in-chief.
