Are US politicians too old? | Global News Podcast

Welcome to the global news podcast from. the BBC World Service. I'm joined by our. youthful Washington correspondent Daniel. Bush. Daniel, are US politicians too. old? >> Well, that's the question on everyone's. mind right now. I appreciate you calling. me youthful. We'll get into this a. little bit. Um I am 1 day younger than. the vice president of the United States, J.D. Vance. So, uh whether or not that's youthful is is. in the eye of the beholder, but listen, this is aging politics has been in the. headlines here in the United States um.

over the weekend with the death of South. Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, as well. as with the long hospitalization of. Mitch McConnell. Lindsey Graham was 71. Mitch McConnell is in his mid-80s. Um. this has been a topic now for years in. the United States as leaders in both. parties have been older. Obviously, age. was a major issue for the last. president, Joe Biden, who ended up um. dropping his bid for re-election amid. concern over his ability to do the job. The current president, Donald Trump,

along with Biden, is only the second US. president ever to be 80 in office. So, that is the big debate. You know, are. politicians the leaders in both parties. um too many of them critics some some. critics argue are too old to do the job. >> Is this something that matters to. voters? >> Well, that's a very good question. I. mean, you know, from one perspective, you could argue that it does not because. voters have now elected you know, multiple um presidential candidates who. were in their early 70s or or even.

pushing 80. Um you know, it it goes to. what the options are for voters, right? If we take a step back for a minute, the. average age of members of Congress in. the House is approaching 60. It's a. little under 60. The average age of. senators is approaching 70. And there. are a couple of reasons for that, which. I think are important to to point out. You know, there are typically two tracks. in the US for people who end up in. elected office. One is career. politicians, and and one is people who. were not involved in politics and then. enter politics later in life. For career.

politicians, the typical track, again, this is typical, not the case for. everyone, is you're working your way up. through the ranks like in any any. industry, right? So, serving on your. local city council and then becoming a. state senator or assembly person, then. running for Congress, and typically by. the time you end up running for. Congress, and especially by the time you. end up running for the Senate, you've. been doing this for decades, which means. that, you know, you're in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or even older. And then often, as. is the case for people who weren't in. elected office to begin with, they built.

a career in business, in media, and in. any other field, and then they end up. running, you know, again, in their 40s. and 50s. And there are. outliers. Joe Biden was the youngest. person ever elected to the US Senate in. 1972 at the age of 29. Alexandria. Ocasio-Cortez, she was one of the. youngest members ever elected to the. House. now close to a decade ago. But for the. most part, by the time that that these. people enter office or run for a. high-profile office, they're, you know, in their 50s or older, and that's the.

choice that voters have, and and so. that's who they put in in these. positions. >> Yeah, and it does tend to be older. people who actually go out and vote. Younger people are less likely to vote. So, I mean, is this a sign that maybe. the candidates being older are out of. touch with younger voters? >> This is something that President Obama. himself pointed out in an interview just. a few days ago. Um and I and I'll pull. it up here so I can quote from Obama. directly. He said, "I'm a pretty healthy. 64." That he feels great, but the truth.

is that he's feels that a half of the. references that his daughters make about. social media, he doesn't understand. And. then Obama went on to say, quote, "There. is an element of at some point you age. out." And Obama also said that, you. know, he he wasn't suggesting a sort of. hard and fast rule, as he put it, but he. did think that Democrats, you know, and. again, he's speaking about his party in. particular, do well when we when we have. candidates who are plugged into the. moment, to the zeitgeist, as Obama put. it. So, here we have the former.

president making an argument that at. least his party anyway, will be better. served if they can put forward. candidates who are younger, who are, you. know, more plugged into topics of the. moment. Of course, you know, it's easier. for him to say that having, you know, gone through and now effectively retired. from elected office. He's one of only a. half dozen or so Americans in history. who entered the presidency under the age. of 50. So, he's you know, comfortably. looking at this in a rearview mirror, if.

you will. But, you know, he was. channeling something that I've heard in. both the Democratic Party and the. Republican Party for years covering. politics, which is, you know, some. frustration from voters that um older. candidates simply aren't with the times, don't understand the issues that matter. to them most, and you know, we have a. lot of examples where that is really. stood out. Uh certainly. the last competitive Democratic primary. election, which was 2020, where Joe. Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren,

a lot of the the leading candidates were. in their 70s or approaching 80. Um and. at you know, at times during that. campaign season, clearly, you know, showed a generational divide between. much younger candidates who were, you. know, in some cases decades younger than. them. Uh that's one example. There have. also been moments on Capitol Hill. recently, in the last decade or so, where Congress has gotten more serious. about trying to regulate technology. companies, social media companies, where.

members of Congress have brought, you. know, the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world. up to the Hill to grill them in. testimony, where we've seen these. lawmakers talking about technology and. clearly struggling to grasp it and. understand it. So, that the moments like. that are a reminder that the people in. power in this country often times are in. fact somewhat out of touch with some of. these issues. >> And there have been questions where. there have been serving presidents and. suggestions that they may have dementia. and and people have realized that if you.

do have a president with dementia, it's. never been proved while they've been in. office, but if you did have a president. with dementia, there's very little you. could do about it and it to put it. crudely, they have their hands on the. nuclear button. >> That's right. And again, you know, just. to use the most recent example, this was an issue that was debated and. talked about during Joe Biden's. presidency. He entered office in his very late 70s, became the first sitting president over. 80 in the Oval Office, and then prepared.

to run for re-election at the age of 82, which if he had served a second full. term, had he won, would have put him at. 86 as he was leaving office. Biden's disastrous debate performance. where he appeared to out of it, he was. stumbling, forgetting, um, you know, his. his train of thought often was a shock. to the nation, you know, a stark example. of a president who is older like many. older Americans and and people around. the world, you know, dealing with with. the realities of of aging. Um, the.

question is though, Alex, you know, how. much does this actually affect your job? And, you know, I think there are two things to say. here. On the one hand, um, you know, politicians, they're not uh day manual. laborers, right? You can sit comfortably. behind a desk. You are flown around the. world on government planes, but this is. private transportation, right? You're. not waiting on long lines at the. airport. You have all your needs catered. to. Presidents in particular have access. to some of the very best health care in.

the world. So, the physical side, you. know, that that part is sort of taken. care of, if you will. But, these are, you know, emotionally, mentally, psychologically taxing, grueling jobs, whether you're the president or a member. Congress, you are constantly scrutinized. every word. You have cameras on you from. the moment you step out the door. That. part of it is difficult, and and of. course public speaking is such a crucial. part of the job, whether you're on a. debate stage, whether you're giving an. interview, making a speech. And when. presidents start to slip consistently.

and show signs of age, as former. President Biden did, then it starts a. debate about whether or not they can. actually perform the duties of their. office. And and the White House under. Biden insisted that he did, and and. certainly, you know, you could see him. in person sort of sitting there in in. meetings, um seeming to to grasp the. issues. But then when he stumbled, the. question became, you know, what is. really happening behind closed doors? And to your point, you know, can he. exercise the duties of the office up to. and including your military issues?

>> Yeah, US presidents have term limits. How much support might there be in. Washington after the cases that you. mentioned, maybe for age limits? >> It would be a monumental task to. actually do that, to to change the. fundamental principles underlying the. way that our government here in the. United States is set up. It's highly, highly unlikely that that would ever. come to come to pass, in part because. once politicians are in office, they. like to run for office and hold on to.

that office, which is why we see, you. know, so many senators and members of. Congress in particular serving into. their 70s, into their 80s. There have. been instances in the last decade or two. numerous of of people serving even into. their 90s. So once people get a hold of. power, they don't like to relinquish it, and for that self-serving interest. alone, it's highly unlikely that there. would be a major change to to the way. that our government is set up that would. limit people from serving more than a. couple of consecutive terms. >> Some of the biggest names in Washington,

you mentioned Mitch McConnell, who's. been in hospital, Nancy Pelosi, are. reaching the end of their careers. Are. there younger people waiting in the. wings to take over, to take the big. jobs? >> That's a very good question. There will. be There is There has been a push more. so in the Democratic Party than the. Republican Party, frankly, for among. younger members of Congress to take over. those top jobs. These are you both the.

party leader jobs, the House majority. leader, the House speaker, the Senate. majority and minority leaders, those. those jobs, as well as. the the major ranking member or. chairperson of the big most influential. committees in Congress that you control. the power of the purse, that can. approve judicial nominations, those. kinds of positions. So, there is a push, especially on the. Democratic side, among some younger. members to rise up the ranks a little. bit faster. However, the way seniority.

works, and it's a little complicated and. gets into the weeds quickly, those jobs. likely go to the next in line. And and. the next in line in many many cases are. also older politicians, you know, who. have been doing this a long time, who've. been waiting their turn. So, it's unlikely that as we as Mitch. McConnell, who is not running for re-election, Nancy Pelosi also not running for. re-election, as some of these major. political figures of the 21st century. exit the scene, that they'll be sort of.

immediately overnight wholesale replaced. by, you know, the AOCs, the Alexandria. Ocasio-Cortezes of the world, who are. decades and decades younger, but we'll. begin to see that shift. Some of those. people will get into those positions of. power, but it won't likely be sort of an. overnight, you know, wholesale change. >> Thanks, Daniel. Daniel Bush, our. Washington correspondent. If you'd like. more from the Global News podcast, click. on the link below. Thanks for watching.