Cedric Richmond, a co-chairman for President Biden’s reelection campaign, called Republicans who focus on the president’s age a “one-trick pony.”
Questions about Biden’s age have grown louder in recent weeks. Already the oldest president in history, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term in office.
“The Republicans are a one-trick pony talking about the president’s age; that’s all they talk about. So of course the poll numbers show Republicans highly question it,” Richmond said in a CNN interview Thursday.
Richmond argued that Democrats and the Biden campaign must move the message onto the policy that has been passed while Biden is president. He emphasized the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a promise that all presidents make but “no other president could do,” he said.
“We have to go out and talk about the accomplishments just as much as they talk about lies and misdirection and red herrings,” he said.
“We have to be solely focused on what not only this president and vice president but what this Congress has done, the Democratic Senate and the Democratic House when we had it,” he continued. “And I think that that’s going to prove to be a winning formula once again for all Democrats and for President Biden and Vice President Harris.”
Nearly three-quarters of Americans believe Biden is “too old to run” for reelection, according to a poll released this week. Another poll found that more than half of Democrats are concerned about the president’s age.
Biden isn’t the only politician whose age has drawn scrutiny recently, with health scares for 81-year-old Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and 90-year-old California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) each making headlines this year.
Biden has repeatedly said he is in good health and that there should not be concerns. His chief 2024 rival, former President Trump, would be 82 at the end of a second presidential term, raising similar concerns among some.
The men are polling neck-and-neck in hypothetical general election matchups. Trump is the favorite for the GOP nomination, holding a sizable lead in primary polls.