By Kim Gill
Age has been one of the most widely discussed topics recently regarding the 2024 election cycle. From 81-year-old Senator Mitch McConnell freezing twice this year during press conferences, to 83-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing her reelection bid, as well as the continuous discourse surrounding 80-year-old President Biden and his ability to complete a second term, age has become the hot-button issue amongst voters.
Moreover, much of the emphasis on age is placed on President Biden despite his accomplishments within the first two years of his term. What I find strange is that barely anyone has made the same argument regarding his biggest opponent, 77-year-old former President Donald Trump. It makes me question whether the hoopla around age is serious or just mere clickbait.
When former Brooklyn College Bulldog Shirley Chisholm penned her now-infamous memoir “Unbought and Unbossed,” she wrote about the state of politics during her tenure in Congress. However, she was unaware that the bits of knowledge she gave would apply so much in the present day, rendering her memoir timeless.
In her memoir, she stated that, “Our representative democracy is not working because the Congress that is supposed to represent the voters does not respond to their needs. I believe the chief reason is that it is ruled by a small group of old men.” She went even further to say, “They rise by seniority. Nothing else matters – competence, character, past performance, background, or orientation. All a man had to do was stay alive and keep getting reelected, and he will have power in Washington in twenty or thirty years.”
Knowing this made Chrisholm uneasy because she believed that holding a seat that long was what allowed committees and committee assignments to become corrupt. To remedy this issue, she suggested term limits, with a maximum age of 65 to serve six or eight terms in the House or three or four years in the Senate regardless of age. I most certainly agree with this, considering that for a long time, Congress did not physically reflect the electorate and, until recently, the Democratic side of the House and Senate started to look more like America and less pale, male, and stale. The House is looking more promising considering younger politicians, such as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), Justin J. Jones (D-TN), Justin J. Pearson (D-TN), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Jake LaTurner (R-KS), and George Santos (R-NY), are serving their districts regardless of how you view their politics.
Even though the presidency is only limited to two terms, age is still considered a problem with older candidates vying for the top office in the land despite the fact that the required age to run is 35. With the age requirement in place, what age is appropriate or “too old” to run for president? This is the gray area we seem to be stuck in.
Vivek Ramaswamy is 38 years old and considered “too inexperienced” to run. Governor Ron DeSantis is 45 and considered “a loser.” Then we have President Biden, who many feel is “too old” to seek reelection despite his administration making remarkable achievements, such as the historic bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, both of which expanded access to healthcare, reduced gas prices, addressed climate change, and makes billionaires pay their fair share in taxes. And if he is unfit to lead based on age alone, then why is no one applying that same logic to Trump, who would be 79 in the first year of his second term and 83 in his final year if he is reelected?
If we’re going to have a serious discourse about age, then that should apply to everyone running and not only the politicians we favor. And suppose you desire younger candidates for president. In that case, you should be pushing for House and Senate term limits so that they can obtain the opportunity to get a seat and also gain the experience to run for president in the future.