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com/news/magazine/2024/02/22/im-a-republican-strategist-bidens-age-wont-
doom-him-00142492#:~:text=But%20Republicans%20are%20making%20a,it%20doesn't%20really
%20work.

Opinion | Why Republicans Are Making a Big

Mistake on Biden’s Age
I’m a Republican strategist — and I think my party is making a big
mistake.

Opinion by ALEX CONANT

02/22/2024 12:00 PM EST

Alex Conant is a Republican strategist and partner at Firehouse Strategies, a public

affairs firm based in Washington, D.C.

Many Republicans seem to think zeroing in on President Joe Biden’s age is the easy
path to victory in November. House GOP lawmakers quickly announced a hearing
with Special Counsel Robert Hur, where they are sure to highlight his report
characterizing the president as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” But
Republicans are making a big mistake if they think voters will not reelect a geriatric
politician.

As a Republican strategist who has bluntly tried to make the case for generational
change against an opposing presidential candidate, I can tell you it doesn’t really
work.

Democrats are concerned about fallout from the Hur report, but as I learned the hard
way, there is very little evidence that voters actually care about political leaders’ ages.
The record is clear, albeit depressing: One is hard pressed to identify a single
president, governor or senator who lost reelection because voters thought they were
too old. And that’s despite many younger challengers leveling that attack.

In the last midterm elections, voters on both sides of the aisle put little stake in
mental acuity: An 89-year-old Republican senator was reelected in Iowa, while a
Democratic Senate candidate with serious cognitive health concerns was elected in
Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, both our current and previous presidents set age records
after beating younger opponents in the primary and general elections.

The truth is that octogenarians and nonagenarians are far more likely to die in office
than lose reelection.

Why? Because a politician’s personal traits — including age, honesty and fidelity —
only become salient campaign issues when they are tied to real-world matters that
directly impact voters. In most cases, if elected leaders are advancing policies
popular with their constituents, voters are willing to look past personal shortcomings
and give them another term.
Republicans’ attacks on Biden’s age are not novel: Elderly candidates frequently face
attacks on their age, often couched as a broader pitch for generational change.
President Bill Clinton (who won despite his own personal flaws) evoked Bob Dole’s
age in 1996 when he promised to build “a bridge to the 21st Century.” But Clinton’s
campaign packaged the generational pitch as part of an agenda touting his successful
economic record, while also painting Dole as too extreme. (A message that Biden is
likely to replicate this year against Donald Trump.)

More often, direct appeals for generational change fall on deaf ears — as I personally
discovered working on Marco Rubio’s campaign in 2016. Embracing Rubio’s young
age and charisma, our campaign argued that “outdated” politicians could not tackle
modern problems. But voters disagreed: Rubio’s youthful appearance ended up being
one of his biggest liabilities, which Trump successfully exploited by labeling him
“little Marco.”

Nikki Haley, who endorsed Rubio’s 2016 bid, is similarly finding out how hard it is to
run against an aging Trump, even one who mixes her up with Nancy Pelosi on the
campaign trail.

Despite many Gen X candidates’ eagerness to ascend to power, voters keep rehiring
Boomer politicians. President Ronald Reagan’s quip in 1984 about his opponent’s
“youth and inexperience” is still effective today.

While conservative media takes delight in tracking Biden’s senior moments, the 77-
year-old Trump seems to instinctively understand that it’s not his best line of attack.
For example, following the Hur report on the handling of classified documents,
Trump’s reaction focused not on Biden’s memory but on the appearance of a double
standard in the justice system. While Trump makes light of Biden’s gaffes, his main
message focuses on his own personal grievances and issues voters care about,
including immigration.
It’s true that voters tell pollsters Biden’s age is a concern, but his fitness for office will
only be a major issue if one of two things happen: First, Republicans would have to
make a persuasive argument that Biden’s age is hurting average Americans. It’s
possible the high number of voters who describe Biden as a “weak leader” could
blame his advancing age on mishandling issues they care about. But conservatives’
argument that Biden is too old to effectively implement his own dangerous left-wing
policies is an obvious contradiction.

A more likely scenario for how age would keep Biden from a second term would be a
high-stakes senior moment that legitimately alarmed voters about Biden’s capacity to
fulfill his basic duties as commander-in-chief. This concern explains why Biden’s
staff is doing everything they can to shield him from big, unscripted moments like a
pregame Super Bowl interview. An existential stumble could indeed come, but
Republicans are not in control of their own destiny if they’re relying on that.

The 2024 election will offer voters clear choices on issues that directly impact every
American, including tax rates, foreign policy, immigration and abortion. Voters will
choose the candidate who best shares their values on those issues — regardless of age