Michael Douglas has given his take on whether Joe Biden is too old to run again.
During a Sunday appearance on CNN‘s Fareed Zakaria GPS, the Oscar-winner, 79, was asked whether Biden was in good enough cognitive shape to continue.
‘Well I think that I walk a little similar to him, and the people that I’ve talked to say he is as sharp as a tack… he’s fine,’ Douglas, two years Biden’s junior, said.
‘We all have an issue with memories as we get older, we forget names.
‘He’s overcome a stutter in his life and sometimes he might [stutter], but let’s just say his entire cabinet including his vice-president would be more than happy to work with him again in the next term.
‘I cannot say that about the other candidate running because nobody in his in his cabinet for 2016 wants to be involved with him,’ he said of Trump.
Michael Douglas has given his take on whether his contemporary president Joe Biden is too old to run for president
‘Well I think that I walk a little similar to him, and the people that I’ve talked to say he is as sharp as a tack… He’s fine,’ Douglas said
Zakaria further pushed Douglas, asking whether Biden would be able to run the country four years from now, when he is well into his 80s. If Biden, already the oldest president ever, wins re-election, he will be 86 by the end of his second term.
‘I think he’ll be fine, thank you very much,’ repeated the actor, who plays Benjamin Franklin on Apple TV’s Franklin, which depicts the founding father’s time in Paris during the Revolutionary War.
‘This is probably the most important election of my lifetime. This is the most critical time of my lifetime that I can remember. We need somebody in control who has some experience and knows how to work a global situation.’
Douglas’ comments come as a poll last month revealed that voters’ biggest concern about President Biden is his ‘mental acuity’ going into the 2024 reelection with his age and ability to finish a second term also at the top of Americans’ minds.
The Deseret/HarrisX poll revealed that 34 percent of 1,007 voters rank Biden’s mental acuity among their top three concerns regarding the president’s reelection in November – including 22 percent of Democrats.
Douglas’ comments come as a poll last month revealed that voters’ biggest concern about President Biden is his ‘mental acuity’ going into the 2024 reelection
The same poll shows voters are much less concerned with former President Donald Trump’s mental acuity and age – even though he is only four years younger than Biden, 81
There is rising worry among voters over Biden’s mental and physical fitness for office – not only due to his age but because of his frequent trips, falls and verbal gaffes.
Meanwhile, the same survey shows voters a lot more split on the issues plaguing former President Donald Trump, 77.
The top three issues – with a spread of only 2 percent – show the top issue for voters with Trump are his legal issues (24 percent), worsening division in the U.S. (23 percent) and his excessive use of executive power (22 percent).
Trump is facing four separate indictments and dozens of charges with cases ramping up in the months leading to the general election in the fall. The first charges were brought in March 2023 in the Manhattan document falsification case related to the Stormy Daniels hush-money payment.
Michael Douglas is pictured with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and their daughter Carys
Noah Jupe and Michael Douglas celebrate the Global Premiere of Franklin earlier this month
The three other indictments that followed are the federal election subversion case, the Georgia election interference case and the Southern District of Florida mishandling of classified documents case.
Notably, even though Trump is only four years younger than Biden, his mental acuity didn’t come into play until the sixth listed issue among those polled. And his age was listed as the 14th issue to voters with only 8 percent listing it as one of their top three issues.
Multiple surveys reveal that the majority of voters do not want a 2020 rematch between Biden and Trump – but that’s exactly where the ballot is headed after both geriatrics earned the delegates needed for their respective parties’ nomination at the conventions this summer.
The HarrisX poll conducted February 26-27 shows that 14 percent of respondents say Biden’s age is their No. 1 top issue, with 13 percent claiming his mental acuity was their first ranking issue.
