Biden's repeated slips 'highlight rigid, decaying gerontocracy in US'

US President Joe Biden's slip of the tongue during a highly anticipated news conference has further stoked concern in the US over his physical condition and age, with a new poll showing widespread skepticism among US voters over the advanced ages of both Biden and Donald Trump. Experts say the problem partly reflects frustration with the US' rigid and decadent gerontocracy.

During a solo press briefing on Thursday local time in Washington, Biden mistakenly referred to his vice president Kamala Harris as "vice president Trump." The press conference was viewed as an opportunity for Biden to make up for his "disastrous debate performance" against Trump on June 27 and to reduce the doubts about him, according to CNBC. 

In another slip before his solo conference, Biden also accidentally introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "President Putin" during a NATO event earlier Thursday evening. 

Despite Biden's slips going viral online, US media also found that the Biden campaign's account on X had already posted clips in June showing his rival Donald Trump "getting confused, lost, wandering off, and waving to nobody," in response to some GOP-aligned accounts that cast doubts over Biden's age and capabilities.  

Biden and Trump, at the ages of 81 and 78 respectively, are their parties' oldest nominees for the presidency, according to US media reports, and concerns about their age and fitness have lingered in voters' minds. A recent survey by Pew Research Center shows that nearly 80 percent of US adults support having upper age limits for federal elected officials, including the president.

ABC News said that both Biden and Trump face "a high degree of scorn," as a Thursday poll showed about 40 percent of Americans say neither has the mental sharpness or the physical health to serve effectively, and as many say neither is honest and trustworthy. Sixty percent say Trump is too old for a second term. 

A new poll by Pew released on Thursday also suggests that 63 percent of voters see Biden and Trump as "embarrassing," according to The Hill. 

Sun Chenghao, head of the US-EU program at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Friday that the doubts and dissatisfaction from the American public, whether they are with Biden or Trump, are to some extent dissatisfaction with the country's rigid and decaying gerontocracy.

It's understandable that people prefer mature and stable politicians to lead the country's development amid the US' domestic chaos, but the disadvantages are emerging, as people also concerned that older candidates may have more physical and mental problems, Sun said. 

The electoral system in the US is essentially money politics. It is very difficult to become a candidate, as one needs to get huge financial support from interest groups and big businesses, said Sun. 

Under the current gerontocracy in the US, only the senior members of the establishment or some successful people are likely to become candidates to run in the election, Sun said, noting that the US has just not had a better candidate in recent years within the existing range. 

According to a CNN report on Thursday, both former US president Barack Obama and ex-speaker Nancy Pelosi have privately expressed doubts that Biden is still the one who can beat Trump. Biden has insisted on running, but many Democratic lawmakers have pushed him to reconsider, with more than a dozen going so far as to publicly call for him to step aside in favor of another candidate.

Even if the Democrats want someone else to replace Biden as their 2024 presidential nominee, that person would be drawn from the established political circles, and it would be hard to see any new blood or young dark horse emerging, Sun said. 

This also means that the turnout in the US presidential election this year may be affected, said Sun. "Neither Biden nor Trump is a first-time candidate, and voters are familiar with their policies, but may also feel that their past performances were not satisfactory enough."