President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have made numerous gaffes at public speaking events in recent months. Trump and Biden are among a growing list of aging politicians some feel have overstayed their welcome.
There are roughly 20 members of Congress who are 80 years of age and older, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who’s 90.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who recently celebrated his 82nd birthday, had a couple of the most scrutinized incidents last year that called into question his mental fitness.
McConnell’s public scares has increased calls for term and age limits for those in public office. In September 2023, the then 81-year-old had a second freezing incident in a matter of two months when he stood stock-still on camera after being asked a question by a reporter during a press conference.
Months later McConnell made the unexpected — though unsurprising — announcement that he will be stepping down as the Senate Republican Leader in November, but that he also plans to finish out his current term that ends in January 2027.
While McConnell’s incidents might not be tied to memory loss, other mistakes committed by the two likely candidates heading into the 2024 presidential election have many Americans concerned there may be signs of something more than common memory lapses.
At 81 years old, Biden is the oldest person to serve as U.S. president. He’s seeking a second term and will turn 82 two weeks after the November election. But his age has been a cause of concern for voters, one that has been made worse by a recent special report by Special Counsel Robert Hur that investigated his handling of classified documents during the years after he served as vice president in the Obama administration.
In the report, Hur describes the president’s memory as “faulty,” “hazy,” “fuzzy,” and “poor.” It also said the president’s memory had “significant limitations,” noting that he could not remember when his son Beau Biden died or when he was vice president. President Biden also mistakenly called Egypt’s leader Abdel Fattah El-Sissi the “president of Mexico,” and he mixed up “red state and blue state” with “red state and green state” during the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference.
Recently, 77-year-old former president Trump, who’s currently the front-runner in the Republican primaries, has also made his share of memory mistakes. He appeared to confuse Nikki Haley, his Republican rival in the primaries, with Democratic congresswoman Nancy Pelosi when discussing the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol. And he mixed up President Biden with former President Barack Obama while giving a speech.
While many adults experience memory lapses from time to time, the gaffes from the presidential candidates, who have a combined age of more than 150 years, draw more attention because of the positions of power and influence they hold.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll revealed that 59 percent of Americans believe that both Biden and Trump are too old for another term as president.
So the stakes for top elected officials are higher than forgetting where you parked your car or not remembering your kindergarten classmate’s name.
Atlanta Black Star spoke with medical experts to understand what the lapses may mean. They agree that some minor memory loss is normal with age.
“Some slowing down and minor forgetfulness is normal,” said Dr. Leon Barkodar, a neurologist at Neurology Los Angeles. However, he said that normal forgetfulness should not affect daily activities or work. And he mentioned that fatigue could play a role in memory slips.
“Lack of sleep can take a significant toll on people,” he added.
Other experts agree with Dr. Barkodar. “A change in our ability to remember as we age is, for many, a normal fact of life,” said professor Jim Jackson, a neuropsychologist and Vanderbilt Medical Center professor of medicine.
Memory slips in older adults are often considered more serious because the occurrences may signal the start of more serious conditions such as dementia — a condition where memory, thinking and decision-making worsens progressively.
Dementia affects 1 in 7 adults aged 71 and older in the United States, with about 5.8 million people living with the condition. The rate of the illness rises along with age, though the condition can also affect younger people, with the youngest case ever diagnosed in a 19-year-old man.
“The top warning signs of dementia include memory loss that disrupts daily activities, difficulty completing simple tasks at home, work or in leisure time, and confusion with time or place,” Dr. Barkodar said.
But he warns against armchair diagnoses and speculation on the brain health of both Biden and Trump, saying the public can’t tell how healthy they are just from a few gaffes on camera. “We would need a professional to properly evaluate them to know for sure. Let’s hope they have good support and staff just in case,” Dr. Barkodar added.
But when should we be worried about memory lapses in older adults? When is it just a slip-up and when is it a sign of something more serious going on?
“If they are different regarding frequency (they happen more and more often) or they reflect a stark departure from typical behavior,” Jackson said. “For instance, getting lost on a familiar route or suddenly being unable to do your taxes, when you’ve been doing them for the last 50 years, forgetting the name — not of an old high school classmate — but of your friend or neighbor or someone you are in contact with, then this is something to be more alarmed about.”
