Presidential Age
Under Article II of the Constitution, the United States president must be aged at least 35 although there are no limits on a maximum age. That said, the age does matter to voters.
2024 is shaping up to be the ‘oldest’ presidential election of all time, breaking the 2020 record. Both aged over 75, whoever wins will become the oldest president of all time, a record both Trump and Biden have held at one point. Needless to say, many citizens are unenthusiastic about having senior citizens as the two major nominees. Such voter apathy may be felt on election day.
1996 shows us an example of a nominee seen as too old. The oldest first-time candidate, 73-year-old Bob Dole contested 50-year-old incumbent Bill Clinton. On the campaign trail, Dole fell off the stage, injuring himself in a visual summation of the difference between the OAP Dole and the president, the third youngest man to ever be elected to the position. David Letterman joked during the campaign that Dole participated in 1775’s Battle of Bunker Hill.
On the flip side, 1960 saw the youthful John F. Kennedy clinch the presidency. This image was further compounded by the famous 1960 presidential debate against Richard Nixon where Kennedy harnessed the new age of television, wearing make-up and a more stand-out suit. It was not that Nixon was old but that the young Kennedy seemed to be the man who would propel the United States into the next generation. His election made him the youngest president directly elected by American voters.
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