netmiko.com - Latest Global News | Joe Biden’s birthday overshadowed by age concerns in 2024 electionnetmiko.com

WASHINGTON − President Joe Biden turned 81 on Monday as concerns about his age continue to dominate his 2024 reelection campaign.

There wasn’t a big birthday bash.

Instead, Biden marked the day “pardoning” two turkeys, carrying out the longtime White House tradition ahead of Thanksgiving.

“It’s my birthday today,” Biden said, kicking off the turkey ceremony on the White House South Lawn. “I just want you to know, it’s difficult turning 60,” he joked.

Biden, already the oldest president in U.S. history, would be 86 when he completed a second term if reelected.

Biden said Steve Lykken, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and Lykken’s family sang “Happy Birthday” to him inside the White House before the event.

Biden has often made light of his octogenarian status − “I know I’m 198 years old,” the president joked in June − as poll after poll shows it remains one of his biggest election liabilities.

A poll by Monmouth University in October found 76% of voters believe Biden is too old to effectively serve a second term, compared with 48% who said the same about Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who is 77.

An NBC News poll released Sunday found Biden is trailing in a hypothetical rematch against Trump with voters ages 18 to 34, a group that is historically part of the Democratic base. Trump is backed by 46% of young voters,; Biden is supported by 42%.

The poll found that Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 40%, an all-time low for the poll, and that Trump, despite his multiple indictments and legal troubles, leads nationally in a hypothetical matchup 46%-44%.

Concerns about Biden’s age has prompted a Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who has argued for a new generation of Democratic leadership in the White House.