Like concerns about the president Joe Biden‘wise impact on the Democratic Party after a disastrous debate performance, donald trump avoided adopting this line of attack on his electoral opponent, at least for now.
At a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Friday, Trump spoke of his “big victory” in the debate and attacked Biden’s competence. “Joe Biden’s problem is not his age, it’s not his problem at all,” he said. counted the crowd. “He doesn’t have any problems other than – it’s his competence. He is extremely incompetent.”
Trump said he knew people much older than Biden who are doing “unbelievable things” like “making a fortune.” And he praised the CNN moderators for treating him “very fairly” in the debate. CNN did not check candidate comments in real time, allowing Trump to unleash a torrent of lies and wild exaggerations throughout his speaking time.
At 78 years old, the presumptive Republican nominee is three years younger than Biden. He has largely tried to deflect focus from Biden’s age in the past, possibly out of fear of alienating older supporters and to draw attention to one’s own age. At a rally in Georgia in March, Trump rejected similar arguments against Biden – who has reportedly been in politics since 1973 – saying, “It’s not a question of age, it’s a question of competence.” Which is not to say that Trump has completely avoided attacks on Biden‘wise.
But Trump also faced questions about your age and mental acuity, although not as persistently as Biden did. Whichever of the two is elected, he or she will be the oldest person to be sworn in as president.
In North Carolina on Friday, Biden acknowledged concerns about her age was accentuated by his debate performance. In an energetic rally that contrasted sharply with his behavior the night before, Biden told the crowd in North Carolina that he doesn’t walk, talk or debate as well as he used to.
“But I know how to tell the truth,” he said. “I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job.”
This article was originally published in MSNBC.com