Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton defended her friend Joe Biden as he pursues re-election with doubts hovering about his age.
Biden's age is an "issue" and voters have "every right" to consider it, but Biden is doing a good job, Clinton said during a Financial Times event. She had been asked about a near-fall Biden had in Japan this weekend at the G7.
She appeared to downplay the issue, comparing Biden to past presidents who tripped occasionally.
“It’s a concern for anyone. We’ve had presidents who had fallen before who were a lot younger, and people didn’t go into heart palpitations,” Clinton said.
Clinton quoted Biden's saying, "Don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative," i.e., Donald Trump.
“But, you know, he has this great saying — and I think he’s right — don’t judge him for running against the Almighty but against the alternative. I am of the camp that I think he’s determined to run.”
She also said, incredibly, that Biden deserves praise for his handling of the economy and that he is electable -- not that Clinton would know anything about that.
“So, I obviously hope he stays very focused and able to compete in the election because I think he can be re-elected, and that’s what we should all hope for," she said.
Biden and his allies have generally acknowledged his age is a "legitimate concern," but they have spun the issue by insisting he has outperformed and that his likely election rival, Trump, is an existential threat to the country.
"You learn how to make certain adjustments,” top Democrat James Clyburn (Sc.) said recently. “I think Joe Biden knows how to operate within himself. And I would much rather have an 82-year-old Joe Biden as president than a 42-year-old Donald Trump.”
The Democratic party's take on Biden's age is a generous one, to put it mildly.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 68 percent of voters believe Biden is too old for his job, while 44 percent said the same of Trump.
Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history, and he would be 86 at the end of a second term.
