Splinter Asks: Is Grandpa Too Old to Be President?

In these United States of America, an aspiring public servant/lunatic must be a minimum of 35 years old in order to run for president. It says so in the frickin’ Constitution. We have a minimum age and yet….no maximum age. Hmmmm. Interesting. Our current president was 70 years old when he began his tenure—which is the oldest of any first term president U.S. history (though Ronald Reagan has him beat for oldest prez ever elected—he was 73 when he started his second term).

As we look ahead toward 2020, the question of age is looming as large as our own inevitable mortality. Among the potential democratic candidates are Joe Biden (76), Bernie Sanders (77), Elizabeth Warren (69) and Michael Bloomberg (76). If reelected, Trump will be 74 when he starts his second term, and will be pushing 80 on his way out. Now, to be clear, we’re not questioning anyone’s cognitive abilities here—OK we might be, though NOT on the basis of age. Some might argue that the sheer premise of this story is ageist, but being president is (theoretically) an incredibly taxing job! To question whether we ought to have an age cap on candidates isn’t designed to disparage the old, but to take a long hard look at the job at hand. If the rules say a 34-year-old can’t do it, it’s worth asking: can an 80-year-old?

I asked the Splinter staff what they thought about a possible maximum age for a president at the start of his or her first term. And yes, we know people are living longer, we have taken that into account, please do not @ us about that. The planet will be decimated in 50 years, so who cares. Anyway, here’s what my beloved colleagues had to say:

Me, Caitlin Schneider: 65

Jack Mirkinson: 67