Former President Donald Trump, for a moment, defended the political rival he has called “Sleepy” and “Crooked.”
In an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly that was posted on Thursday, Trump asserted that 80-year-old President Joe Biden is not too old to be in the White House.
Trump is clearly among the distinct minority on that issue.
A Wall Street Journal poll last week found that 73% of respondents say Biden is too old to run for president.
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It was the second time in a week Americans overwhelmingly declared the incumbent too old for the post he holds.
The Associated Press released a survey in late August that found 77% of Americans — including 69% of Democrats — maintained Biden is too old to handle a second term.
Yet the 77-year-old Trump — sort of — came to his fellow Baby Boomer’s defense in the interview with Kelly.
When Kelly asked Trump if the respondents to the AP poll were correct, he replied, “No, not for the reason of old.”
“I have friends who are in their 80s … in their 90s, and they’re sharp as a tack. I would say just about what they used to be,” Trump said.
Trump cited 94-year-old Bernie Marcus, founder of Home Depot, as one of them.
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But as for Biden, he added, “No, not old. He’s incompetent.”
“Age is interesting because some people are very sharp and some people do lose it, but they lose it at 40 and 50 also,” Trump added.
“But no, he’s not too old at all. He’s grossly incompetent,” Trump continued of Biden.
“You look at some of the great world leaders, they were in their 80s … they were phenomenal in their 80s,” he said. Trump offered the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as an example.
“You know, there’s great wisdom if you’re not in a position like him [Biden],” Trump added.
“But if you go back 25 years, he wasn’t the sharpest tack either.”
One person who declared both men too old was Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In an interview earlier this week with CBS News, DeSantis said Americans were right to have a “legitimate concern” about the ages of both Biden and Trump.
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“The presidency’s not a job for someone that’s 80 years old,” DeSantis said.
“Obviously, I’m the governor of Florida, I know a lot of people who are elderly, they’re great people, but you’re talking about a job where you need to give it 100%, we need an energetic president,” he added.
“I think that if the Founders could kind of look at this again, I do think they probably would’ve put an age limit on some of these offices.”
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