It will be a birthday like no other in White House history. But those inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are not keen on having a blow-out celebration.
President Joe Biden will turn 80 years old next month, becoming the first commander-in-chief to become an octogenarian while in office. The Nov. 20 birthday will come two weeks after the midterms and will likely intensify scrutiny of Biden’s health and speculation as to whether he will seek another term.
If he were to win again, Biden — who already holds the distinction of being the oldest president elected — would be 82 when he takes the oath of office a second time and 86 on his successor’s Inauguration Day. His age has always been a sensitive topic among his closest allies and planning is underway as to how to best navigate the occasion.
White House aides are keenly aware of the storylines surrounding his age and are bracing for the inevitable news cycle. The topic has been met with some trepidation in the West Wing and senior aides have called around to Biden world allies to seek advice on how to best handle the date that will surely draw significant attention from reporters and Republicans alike.
For now, the plan is likely to downplay the birthday and simply focus on the work, according to those familiar with the discussions.
“Like President Biden has said, anyone with questions about his age should just watch him: he has delivered record job creation, made NATO the strongest it has ever been, and amassed the most significant legislative record since LBJ in less than half of one term,” said Andrew Bates, White House spokesman. “I don’t have a comment about whether POLITICO is invited to his birthday.”
Biden is not the first president for which age has become a matter of politics. Famously, one of his predecessors, Dwight Eisenhower, declared that “no one should ever sit in this office over 70 years old, and that I know.”
Eisenhower left office in 1961 not long after he hit that age. But while attitudes toward aging have changed in the decades since, White House aides know Biden’s birthday will be inherently political — as a reminder of the choice voters could face about his fitness for office.
“We haven’t had an 80-year-old president before, but if any lesson emerges from modern history, it is that if a president seems vigorous and well and is doing the job, age has been less of a factor for voters,” said presidential historian Michael Beschloss. “When a president plans to run for reelection at an age the voters haven’t seen before, history suggests that the burden has been on the candidate to show that age will not be a problem.”
Although Biden makes a point of marking other important family days — including Thanksgiving and the anniversary of his son Beau’s death — he rarely does much for his birthday. That is unlikely to change this year, though no plans have been finalized, according to those close to him.