US President Joe Biden took a jab at his Republican opponent Donald Trump regarding his physical fitness and age.
In a speech at the Gridiron Club dinner, Biden mocked not just himself but also targeted Trump. He quipped, "One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other one is me," as cited by Reuters.
Dismissing the ongoing criticism, Biden pointed out instances where Trump, aged 77, had stumbled, implying that Trump appeared to believe he was still competing against Barack Obama.
Later, Biden shifted the tone to a more serious note, expressing concerns about the threat to democracy posed by Trump's continued false claims about the 2020 election and his apparent deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Look, I wish these were jokes, but they're not... Democracy and freedom are literally under attack. Putin's on the march in Europe. My predecessor bows down to him and says, 'Do whatever the hell you want"," he said. Biden emphasized the importance of standing firm against such threats, introducing Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as examples of resilience. As he concluded the dinner, Biden emphasized the importance of a free press, acknowledged the difficulties that journalists encounter, and reiterated his dedication to assisting them in their work.
The dinner, a longstanding Washington tradition dating back to the 1880s, witnesses the gathering of government officials, media, and business to enjoy musical skits.
The dinner hosted nearly 650 guests, including Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach of Ireland, Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner, Vice President Kamala Harris and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, representing the Democratic Party at the event, also spoke on Saturday, as well as Utah Governor Spencer Cox, representing the Republican Party.
Cox, 48, joked that he was announcing his candidacy for the presidency "in 2052, when I still will be younger than both President Biden and President Trump."
Trump was the oldest person elected to a first term — until Biden was. Today, the age factor is shaping up as an important issue in a possible rematch in 2024 of their first race, in 2020.
According to a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in August found that 77% of U.S. adults, including 69% of Democrats, viewed Biden as too old to be effective for four more years. The same poll found that 51% of adults — and just 28% of Republicans — said Trump is too old.
