Biden, 80, once hammered rival for being too old at 63

President Biden once hammered an opponent for being too old for office — even though he was almost 20 years younger than the oldest-ever commander-in-chief is now.

Biden, running to stay president despite being 80, was a 29-year-old local Delaware councilman in 1972 when he ran the cruel — and ultimately successful — campaign for Senate.

Biden repeatedly bashed incumbent Republican Sen. Cale Boggs for being too old at a mere 63 — which is 23 years younger than Biden will be at the end of a second term as president if he wins reelection.

His campaign approach was described at the time as bashing Boggs for being “Dear old dad.”

Biden even bragged to local Democrats at the time that his rival, who scuppered retirement plans to run for reelection, had warmly told him how important it was “for youth to be involved in politics.”

Biden was confident that he would win because he could tell that “Cale doesn’t want to run.

“He’s lost that old twinkle in his eye he used to have,” Biden said, according to a Delaware Evening Journal report from the time.

His campaign ads repeatedly hammered Boggs for being too old to understand modern life, CNN noted.

“To Cale Boggs an unfair tax was the 1948 poll tax. To Joe Biden an unfair tax is the 1972 income tax,” one newspaper ad read.

One radio ad also accused Boggs of being too worried about Russia while ignoring domestic issues like crime, a criticism that Biden faces today.

“One of the biggest differences between Cale Boggs and Joe Biden is the things they worry about,” the radio ad said, according to CNN.

“In Cale Boggs’ day when Stalin ruled, Americans had visions of the Russian soldiers in our streets. In Joe Biden’s day, Americans have visions of American criminals in our streets,” it said.

That, like many others, had the tagline: “Joe Biden, he understands what’s happening today.”

The agist approach was attacked by other Senators, and credited as being the key for Biden’s victory at the time.

The Associated Press headline at the time read: “Biden stressed age to defeat Boggs, 63.”

Now, it is Biden’s age — as well as his slips and gaffes — that are unavoidable in the 2024 election, with 59% of Democrats polled by Reuters/Ipsos in February agreeing that the phrase “Joe Biden is too old to work in government” describes the president.

Even left-leaning CNN noted that Biden’s age has been “omnipresent” in nearly every conversation about him trying to remain in office.

However, doctors have insisted that the oldest-ever US president is “fit for duty,” and the White House has repeatedly said that his record proves he’s mentally sharp enough for the job.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates told CNN for its report that Biden has made “historic progress” that has been “enthusiastically welcomed by younger Americans.”