If elected in November, former President Donald Trump would become the oldest U.S. president ever to be inaugurated. His campaign strategy? Mock his opponent’s age, who is just three years older than himself.
Trump celebrated his 78th birthday on Friday, reaching the same age President Joe Biden was when he won the election. Though Biden has taken most of the fall for age-related concerns, Trump hasn’t been exempt from questions about his cognitive function himself.
More:Campaign trail gaffes by Trump and Biden put a spotlight on their ages. Should voters worry?
Over the years, Trump’s attacks on Biden’s age have varied from veiled to overt as his own tally climbed.
Here are just some of the digs Trump has made about his opponent’s age:
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More:'A loser': With new bag of taunts, Biden tries to get under Trump's skin
“Sleepy Joe”
The mocking phrase “Sleepy Joe” was coined by Trump in 2019 during his re-election campaign, making fun of moments when Biden looked unalert.
In a campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire, in August 2020, Trump said, “The guy doesn’t even know he’s alive!”
“We’ve got a sleepy guy in the basement of the house,” Trump said of Biden in April 2020.
“Young, vibrant man”
In 2019, Trump took a dig at his then-presidential candidates, Biden and independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.
“I think that I just feel like a young man,” Trump told reporters. “I’m so young. I can’t believe it, I’m the youngest person.”
Sometimes, without directly noting his age, Trump compares his own mental fortitude to Biden.
“I am a young, vibrant man. I look at Joe, I don’t know about him,” Trump said. “I don’t know, I would never say anyone is too old.”
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Not too old, “too incompetent”
In May, Trump backpedaled his age jokes and pivoted less than a month before his birthday.
“JOE BIDEN IS NOT TOO OLD TO BE PRESIDENT—NOT EVEN CLOSE—BUT HE IS TOO INCOMPETENT AND CORRUPT!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump responded to Biden’s May 2023 stumble and fall onstage by saying that he asked Fox News host Sean Hannity not to joke about the president’s cognitive abilities.
“I asked Sean not to joke about it,” Trump said during a town hall. “I said, ‘Honestly, I don’t think it looks good for you or for anybody to joke about it.’”
— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her atswoodward@gannett.com, on X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody
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