MSNBC host Jen Psaki said health scares involving Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) are “unquestionably bad” for President Biden’s 2024 reelection chances.
Psaki, who was Biden’s White House press secretary before leaving the role last year, discussed the president’s age during a panel discussion for journalist Kara Swisher’s podcast released Thursday.
“Does it help or hurt that there’s other elderly people struggling in our political universe?” Swisher asked, specifically naming Feinstein and McConnell.
“It unquestionably hurts,” Psaki replied.
There’s a feeling “of like, these people are so old,” she added. “They’re so old and white and they’re disconnected from what we’re experiencing and what we’re living. And all of them are old. And why are all these old people running Washington?”
Feinstein was frequently absent from Senate this year as she recovered from shingles and faces other health problems. McConnell froze during press conferences twice in recent months, worrying voters about his health.
Every elderly politician is different, Psaki said, but the narrative did not help her former boss.
“They’re not the same, obviously. Different health — all the things, we can explain it, but when you’re explaining it, it’s kind of a challenge. So I think it’s unquestionably bad,” Psaki said.
Biden’s age has been a headline concern for Democrats and angle of attack for Republicans about a year out from the 2024 election. The president is currently the country’s oldest president and would be 86 at the end of a second term.
More than half of Democrats have some concern over Biden’s age, according to polls, while nearly three-quarters of all voters said he’s too old to run for office again in a separate poll.
Psaki said the age issue is more important to Washington insiders than it is to the average American, referencing a Washington Post column last week that sparked a new wave of beltway debate.
“Biden and the Biden and Harris team in the White House have challenges about running for reelection. Unquestionably, we’re talking about them,” she said.
“That is not the conversation happening in the country. That is a conversation outlined in that op-ed that is happening at dinner parties in Washington and maybe some other coastal cities.”