Trump and his age: The new election campaign issue after Biden's withdrawal?

t-online Trump and his age: The new election campaign issue after Biden's withdrawal? Story by Julius Zielezinski • 2 hours • 3 minutes reading time After Biden's withdrawal Now he has the problem with age Donald Trump before the reception of the 2019 college basketball champions in the White House (archive photo): The ex-president is known for his love of fast food. (Source: Joyce N. Boghosian/imago-images-bilder) After Biden's withdrawal, the focus suddenly turns to Trump's age. He is the oldest candidate in the country's history. After Donald Trump and the Republicans repeatedly made Joe Biden's age an issue, Trump suddenly finds himself confronted with the same accusations. Because after Biden's withdrawal from the election campaign, Donald Trump, at 78, is suddenly the oldest presidential candidate in US history. Accusations are mounting on social media that Trump is not only too old for the office of president, but also does not have the mental capacity for it. And indeed, Trump has repeatedly had lapses or made confused statements during public appearances. For example, when he declared that he knew "the best words" due to his good education, or when he said that the revolutionary army of 1775 had taken over all the airports at that time. In his defense, Trump likes to cite the fact that he took two cognitive tests during his time in office and passed both with flying colors. In an interview with the Washington Post, however, neurologist Ziad Nasreddine emphasized that even if he had passed them during his time in the White House, the results years later would hardly be meaningful. Nasreddine helped develop the relevant test. In addition to doubts about whether Trump is mentally capable of holding the office of president, questions are being raised about his physical health. The most detailed record of Trump's health data comes from 2018, when his attending physician gave a press conference at the White House. 110 kilograms According to the doctor, Trump weighed 110 kilograms at the time. Even if you believe Trump's self-reported height of 1.90 meters, you get a body mass index (BMI) of 30.5 - that corresponds to grade I obesity. The doctor also explained that a coronary calcium measurement had determined a value of 134. This makes calcification of the heart vessels visible. With such a high value, Trump has an increased risk of suffering a heart attack. In addition, all of this data comes from a study carried out six years ago, when Trump was still 72 years old. A survey conducted by the Washington Post in collaboration with ABC News found that his age could be one of the topics in the election campaign. For example, 58 percent of respondents said they thought both Biden and Trump were too old to run for president again. "78 years old and only occasionally of sound mind" Nevertheless, so far there have been no direct attacks by Democratic politicians on Trump's age. This could be because the Democrats do not want to expose themselves to accusations of hypocrisy after having played down criticism of Biden's advanced age for a very long time - especially in light of the fact that Biden, despite all his health problems, continues to rule as president. So instead of attacking Trump directly, they are more likely to emphasize the relative youth of 59-year-old Kamala Harris. The Democrats' base is less reserved. Occupy Democrats, a pro-democratic media company, posted on X: "Donald Trump is 78 years old and in a state of profound cognitive decline. He should end his campaign immediately." MSNBC presenter Rachel Maddow echoed this sentiment in a commentary: "Trump is 78 years old and only occasionally lucid, and his record as president is considered by historians to be the worst in the country's history." At the same time, a video of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley from January of this year resurfaced in which she predicted: "The party that gets rid of its 80-year-old candidate first will win the election." Initial polls seem to confirm Haley's suspicions. Harris is currently just ahead of Trump.