President Biden tried and failed to prove his physical vigor to critics constantly calling into question his age and fitness for the job.
For the piece detailing what Biden and his team did to try and minimize the public’s impression that he was a “faltering” president, reporters spoke to people close to Biden who noted that the president wanted to display his physical prowess to combat scrutiny of his age.
“But at times, people familiar with his thinking recalled, Mr. Biden’s pride — along with an old-school view that displaying physical vitality was the antidote to age concerns — could get in the way.”
Biden’s longtime strategist Mike Donlon had told the president in 2022, “Your biggest issue is the perception of age.” Biden “acknowledged the concerns,” but the “warnings only ignited his defiant, competitive streak,” The Times reported, suggesting that this attitude fueled his decision to run for re-election in 2023, after initially suggesting he would not.
“Finally elected on his third try, Mr. Biden suggested that he would be a transition president,” the piece stated. “But his pride, plus a string of legislative accomplishments and a strong showing in the 2022 midterms, drove him to seek re-election and set out on a quixotic mission to prove his vitality.”
“He did not want to be seen as weak — a 78-year-old president with his hand on the Bible and a large, telltale contraption on his foot. He wore his leather brogues instead.”