Donald Trump turns 78 on Friday, as this dignified age reminds US voters that in this year's election, the country's presidential candidates from both leading parties are the oldest in history.
Age and mental acuity are at the center of the controversy between Republican Trump and his Democratic rival, incumbent President Joe Biden, with their words garnering more attention than substantive policy issues in the Nov. 5 election campaign, the agency said.
Polls show that Americans are more concerned about the advanced age of Biden, who is 81 years old. But in fact, Trump, 78, is only three-and-a-half years younger, and would be the oldest sitting president if re-elected. He is expected to speak today at a birthday party organized by his die-hard supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Throughout his campaign so far, Trump has not openly raised the question of Biden's age, but at the same time he has looked for every convenient opportunity to take advantage of his opponent's language mistakes, as well as his difficult mobility, to show that he is not suitable for the Oval Office, Reuters points out.
In turn, in response to questions about his age, Biden urged voters to focus on his accomplishments during his tenure as evidence of his determination and influence. He also cast Trump as a threat to democracy, criticizing his sometimes incoherent speeches as well as his rival's inflammatory rhetoric on immigrants.
Still, even some Democrats have expressed concern about Biden's ability to serve another term as president, at the end of which he would be 86.
In a joint February poll of public opinion by Reuters and the polling agency "Ipsos" 78 percent of those polled (including 71 percent of Democratic sympathizers polled) said Biden, who is already the oldest U.S. president in history, is too old to be in office.
53 percent of those polled believed that Trump, who was in the White House from 2017 to 2021, was also too old for the job.
"It's not about age, it's about intelligence,'' said Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt, who said voters might see the contrast between Biden and Trump, who she called 'sharp as a nail. with premium durability". Reuters notes that Biden's campaign staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this statement.
U.S. presidential historian Timothy Naftali says Trump transmits his energy to audiences during his public appearances, which give the impression of more charge, but that doesn't mean his mind is sharper.
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"Listening to both of them, it is not clear whose brain is better able to manage their responses," Naftali states. Alan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington known for his presidential predictions, says Trump has made mistakes and misinformed the public to a degree that should raise questions about his mental fitness.
"People are kind of fixating on Biden's mistakes, completely ignoring the fact that Trump is clearly completely out of touch with reality," he said.
Trump and Biden are running side by side in opinion polls, with Trump having an advantage in some of the strategic states for the election, and this could prove decisive in the November election, according to Reuters.
The agency adds that it is not clear to what extent age will be a factor in the outcome of the presidential candidate race. Voters will have to decide who to vote for, taking into account the economy, which is generally doing well but is hampered by inflation, as well as immigration issues and the issue of abortion rights.
Trump's legal battles will also be taken into account, Reuters points out. A Manhattan jury in his money-for-hush lawsuit against porn actress Stormy Daniels returned a guilty verdict last month, Reuters recalled. There are three other criminal cases pending against him, though none of them are expected to go to trial before the November election.
The first televised debates on June 27 will be an important test for both Biden and Trump, with voters watching for verbal blunders that could signal whether they are up to the task of leading the country.
Meanwhile today, fifty round lifebuoys were hung on a bridge outside the US consulate in the German city of Hamburg alongside banners reading ``America, Save.'' Don't vote for Trump," DPA reported. The protest action on the eve of Trump's 78th birthday was undertaken by the German artist Volker-Johannes Trieb and several of his supporters.
The 50 buoys symbolize the 50 American states. Inscribed on them are values that the Trib says are threatened by Trump's possible entry into the White House, such as "peace", "rule of law", "women's rights" and "freedom of religion".
At the beginning of the last century, the German city of Hamburg was one of the strategic European ports for migrants, with hundreds of thousands of people boarding ships bound for the United States. Among them was Donald Trump's grandfather, who left Germany for New York in 1905, according to DPA.
Artist Trib also has a birthday today. "I just had to get him a birthday present. To me and to myself. "American citizens can save themselves and us from re-electing Trump as president by voting for democracy on November 5," he said.
Trib has been subordinating his art to humanitarian and social causes for over 30 years, DPA notes. By protesting during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he drew public attention to the plight of foreign workers in the Gulf country. The Trib then dumped 6,500 soccer balls filled with sand in front of the headquarters of the World Football Federation (FIFA) in the Swiss city of Zurich.