Former vice president Joe Biden was jeered and taunted about his age at this year’s Fourth of July parade in Independence, Iowa.
Several attendees mocked Biden as he jogged down the town’s 2nd Street and greeted supporters, reportedly asking the 76-year-old presidential hopeful if he needed a “walker” and calling him “Sleepy Joe.” Fair or not, the perception that Biden is too old for the Oval Office could very well be the crisis that ends his candidacy.
Tough crowd
Biden was trying his best to appear energetic at the city’s 159th Independence Day parade, running back and forth along the parade route to shake hands with paradegoers. He kept up the routine for several blocks, leaving a trail of younger staffers drenched in sweat and puffing for air.
It wasn’t long, however, before the positive energy coming from the parade-goers was replaced by hostility. As Biden passed by, some in the crowd started chanting “Trump, Trump!” and he began encountering hecklers.
“Where’s your walker?” one spectator reportedly shouted, according to The Washington Examiner.
NBC reporter Marianna Sotomayor tweeted a video clip of Biden’s energetic show, in which “Trump” chants could also be heard in the background.
Biden ran back and forth between parade goers to shake as many hands as possible. You could hear some “Trump” chants when his supporters were chanting Biden’s name pic.twitter.com/mF6trbtIGs
— Marianna Sotomayor (@MariannaNBCNews) July 4, 2019
Soon, Biden was hounded by another attendee, this one using one of President Trump’s famous nicknames for the former vice president, calling him “Sleepy Joe.” However, Biden was ready with a rebuttal, asking his critic to join him on a jog, the Des Moines Register reported.
The man declined the invitation, and Biden quickly departed to shake hands with other, more friendly attendees.
Elderly antics
The septuagenarian Democrat has been plagued by questions surrounding his health and fitness since he announced his campaign in April. Other than Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), who is 77, Biden is the oldest in a field of 24 progressive presidential hopefuls.
A Reuters poll released earlier this week found that Americans are more concerned with a president’s advanced age than they are about his sexual orientation. A troubling 48 percent of those polled said that they were “much” or “somewhat” less likely to vote for a candidate who is older than 70.
An article published in The Atlantic on Friday asks, “Is Joe Biden ‘Too Old?’” Apparently, the former Delaware senator still sees himself as a “young-buck visionary,” although it is hard to ignore than Biden’s voting record is older than some of his primary opponents.
When several women came forward in April to accuse him of unwanted physical contact, Biden explained his touchy-feely demeanor by saying that he was raised in a different era. A rambling speaker, Biden can be prone to outbursts that some might call “senior moments.”
No rest for the weary
Biden’s critics may be justified in questioning the candidate’s energy level. In the final stretch of the 2016 presidential race, Trump out-campaigned Hillary Clinton by 50 percent in key battleground states, a difference than many pollsters agree was responsible for Trump’s victory.
So far, though, Democrats appear to be tolerating Biden’s elderly antics. He continues to lead in the primary polls against nearly two dozen candidates who are younger, less experienced, and more radical.
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