Donald Trump celebrates his 78th birthday on Friday, an opportunity for Americans to assess the physical and mental fitness of the Republican candidate, those who are rather accustomed to commenting on that of his rival, President Joe Biden.
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Whether the Republican billionaire or the Democratic leader wins the November 5 election, both would become the oldest American president to take the oath of office.
But the polls are clear: many more Americans believe that the current president is too old for a second term than Donald Trump.
Joe Biden, 81, objectively shows recurring signs of fatigue: his gait is increasingly stiff, his moments of confusion are numerous. The videos of the American president, walking away, haggard, from a group of G7 leaders, smiling into space, stumbling, stuttering, are also shared massively on social networks.
Still, in recent months, Donald Trump has mixed up the names of several cities and leaders, warned that the world is heading toward a second, not third, World War, and launched into numerous rambling tirades. .
Gaffes, tremors
Thursday, during a closed-door exchange with Republican elected officials, he would have described Milwaukee, a strategic city in many respects for the American elections, as “horrible” — sparking a barrage of criticism and questions.
Are these repeated blunders, the videos of him clinging to a banister to avoid slipping, trembling while drinking a glass of water, all concrete illustrations of a decline in the former president?
It is, ultimately, impossible to say.
But these sequences are a hit with Joe Biden’s team, not dissatisfied with shining the spotlight, from time to time, on the age of the other candidate.
For Donald Trump’s birthday, the Democratic president’s camp published a press release on Friday accompanied by a large format and very unflattering photo of the Republican sweating, red cheeks and drawn features.
“Happy birthday Donald. You are a crook, a failure, an impostor and a threat to our democracy,” tackled James Singer, a spokesperson for Joe Biden’s campaign team, in this press release.
“On behalf of America, here’s an early gift for your 79th birthday: We’re going to make sure you’re never president again.”
“Zombie”
These comments made the Trump camp jump, which in return described Joe Biden as “weak and incompetent”.
“It’s a brain-dead zombie,” said a spokesperson in a statement to AFP.
Debates around the age of American presidents are not new.
During Ronald Reagan’s second term, some observers were already wondering about the deterioration of his intellectual abilities.
Former US President Jimmy Carter himself sounded the alarm in a post in 1994, worrying about the “danger” posed to the United States by the possibility that a president’s abilities would be weakened by of a “neurological disease”.
Donald Trump will celebrate his birthday during a big gathering, in a gigantic ballroom, very close to Mar-a-Lago, his luxurious residence in Florida.
“Join us in celebrating the birthday of the best president of all time,” says the invitation, which asks guests to adorn themselves in the colors of the American flag.
He is scheduled to give a speech there, around 7 p.m.
