How Old Is Joe Biden & Who Was The Oldest Person To Be Sworn In As President?

Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942 and is 78-years-old, making him the oldest person to be sworn in as President of the United States. In comparison, the average age of presidents at inauguration throughout American history is around 55, making Biden nearly 1.5 times older than previous commanders-in-chief. The record had previously been held by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who was 70 when he assumed the position.

Joe Biden Will Be Sworn In At 78-Years-Old

Though Biden holds the distinction of being the oldest president in American history, he was ironically one of the youngest politicians to hold the position of senator. Biden was just 29-years-old when he was elected to serve in Congress in 1972 and was sworn in just a month after his 30th birthday, the minimum age requirement for members of the upper chamber.

Over the past year, Biden’s age had been a consistent talking point throughout his run for the presidency, and critics often alleged that his gaffe-prone tendencies were evidence of mental decline. One particularly viral moment occurred during the second Democratic presidential debate. In his closing remarks, Biden appeared to suggest that Trump would serve as commander-in-chief for another eight years before confusing a campaign phone number with a website by urging his supporters to “go to Joe 3-0-3-3-0.”

"Go to Joe 3-0-3-3-0, and help me in this fight."

Joe, what in God's name was this? pic.twitter.com/Yq1g5mXI6m

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 1, 2019

The former vice-president’s gaffes were also often used in attack ads, both during the primary season and the election process. In fact, one of the Trump campaign’s most viewed videos was a compilation of Biden talking in 2016 versus 2020. It has received around 6.5 million views on Youtube.

Biden himself addressed the concerns about his age at multiple points throughout his campaign.

“It’s a legitimate question to ask about my age,” the former Delaware senator said while on the daytime talk show The View.

However, the lawmaker maintained that his age was a plus, as it meant more experience with dealing in the executive office.

“Hopefully, I can demonstrate not only with age has come wisdom and experience that can make things a lot better,” he added, per The New York Times.

However, the Scranton-born lawmaker has indicated that he feels his age might preclude him from seeking a second term.

“If Biden is elected,” a prominent adviser in his team said, “he’s going to be 82 years old in four years and he won’t be running for reelection,” via Politico.

That said, Biden has made no official decision on the matter.

Donald Trump Assumed The Presidency At 70

Trump had previously held the record for the oldest president and had been plagued with similar critiques about his mental state. For example, social media often went wild over videos of Trump drinking from a glass while using two hands or appearing to struggle while walking down a ramp.

Moreover, some medical experts expressed their belief that Trump’s change in speech patterns was evidence of his own cognitive decline.

Trump has exhibited a “clear reduction in linguistic sophistication over time” with “simpler word choices and sentence structure,” claimed psychologist Ben Michaelis to The Atlantic.

The former New York businessman had attempted to stem such remarks by completing a cognitive test.