Episode description

The top brass of the Democrat party in the US have all rallied behind Joe Biden with their eyes on the 2024 presidential election. But they have a problem. Repeated polls suggest support for the incumbent president is stagnant at best. Dangerously low at worst. A repeated concern among doubting voters is his age and health. If Biden wins a second term next year, and completes four years in power, he will be 86 when he steps down. Much of the electorate simply don’t think he has it in him. Republican front runner Donald Trump has long dubbed the president as Sleepy Joe. It’s a taunt that increasingly rattles the nerves of the Democratic Party faithful. As the president’s voice noticeably weakens and his gait stiffens there is a fear he just sounds and looks too old for the job. But is his physical and mental capacity being distorted by his adversaries to undermine his achievements? His team point to major policies he’s passed including his infrastructure bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, and his chips and science act. He’s also recently returned from the G20 summit in India and before that he travelled by planes, trains and car into war-torn Ukraine. And Joe Biden is not alone in the very upper echelons of American politics. Donald Trump is 77 years old, the oldest senator is 90 years old and the Republican senate minority leader is 81 years old and ailing. Does America have a problem with the gerontocracy not making way for new blood and what does it mean for the coming 2024 election?

Shaun Ley is joined by: Christy Setzer - a Democrat strategist who was spokesperson for vice president Al Gore's presidential campaign. Scott Jennings - a Republican strategist who was special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2008 James Politi - Washington bureau chief for the Financial Times

Also in the programme: Jay Olshansky - Professor of Public Health at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Amanda Litman - co-founder and co-executive director of the organisation 'Run For Something', which recruits and supports young progressives trying to win office.

Produced by Ellen Otzen and Zak Brophy

Image: US President Joe Biden addresses the United Nations General Assembly Leader's Reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on September 19, 2023.Credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)