Joe Biden could retire from office in January 2025 as one of the most accomplished presidents in U.S. history, and probably the most accomplished one-term president. Instead, he appears determined to embark on a second-term campaign that even a sizable portion of his Democratic admirers would dread for the simple, inalterable fact of his age.
For a first-term chief executive to willingly forgo reelection is relatively rare in America’s history. But Biden’s advanced age in the White House is completely without precedent and is problematic in both perception and reality. At 80, Biden is older halfway through his first term than any sitting president has been at any point in his tenure. Even his most ardent fans have to admit that it shows. At the end of a hypothetical second term, he would be 86 — roughly a full decade older than the average American male life expectancy.
For his legacy, his party and his country, Biden should strongly consider the historic step of announcing that he will retire after his current term.
