The ex-president donald trump reaches 78 years old with a backpack loaded with legal cases. Among the most serious are a guilty verdict by falsify business records to influence the presidential elections, the wait for a sentence and three more criminal cases on the horizon, not to mention the millionaire fine that a judge imposed on him for sexual harassment to the writer E. Jean Carroll and then defame her. Compensating for so much legal problem, this week she has seen her political position as leader of his party reinforced. On a trip to Washington, Trump has returned to the Capitol for the first time after the assault on January 6, 2021 and there he has been received with praise and adulation even among those who never looked at him with very good eyes, such as the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McDonnell, who three years ago accused him of provoking the assault by “feeding the mob with lies.”
The parade of processions that was seen this Thursday in the Capitol is also a sign that no or few party colleagues reproach the former president for his legal issues, his histrionics on stage or his way of acting and governing, as for his Now 78 years old, Trump will arrive at these elections stronger than ever. So much so that he takes advantage of any occasion to continue raising funds for his cause. Yesterday he organized a birthday party in style at a space called Club 47 USAin West Palm Beach (Florida) where general admission tickets were around $30 and front row tickets were $60. The “sold out” sign was immediately posted because The 5,000 tickets that were put on sale quickly sold out., according to the owner of the place where the celebration took place, Larry Snowden. In total, at least $150,000 was raised, which could possibly be used to pay the fees of the former president’s legal team and the multiple fines that have been imposed so far.
Donald Trump (78) is three years younger than his Democratic rival Joe Biden (81), but time passes very differently for both. While the president and his mental and physical lapses are in the press most days, Trump’s, who also has some moments of confusion (like when he confused his rival in the primaries Nikki Haley with the speaker of the House of representatives, Nancy Pelosi) go more unnoticed. The former president is more mentally and physically agile, but his age still worries voters. According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll, more than half of Americans surveyed are concerned about the advanced age of their only two presidential options. Furthermore, according to another survey that Pew Research conducted in April, and62% of those interviewed said they did not trust Biden’s mental aptitude and 65% indicated that they did not believe in their physical ability. The results were more positive for Trump, because the 48% did not trust mental fitness of the former president and 39% distrusted physics.
Perhaps the most curious thing is that both Biden and Trump have taken advantage of their adversary’s ages to attack each other. Joe Biden’s campaign team yesterday congratulated the former president with a somewhat peculiar statement. ¨Congratulations, Donald. You are a criminal, a failure, a fraud and a threat to our democracy, our economic rights and our future. On behalf of the United States, our early gift for your 79th birthday: to ensure that you are never president again. The message responded to an email that Trump’s team had sent hours before and that recalled how this week, during the G7 celebration in Italy, President Georgia Meloni had to lovingly lead a disoriented Biden back to the group to take a photo with the rest of the world leaders. However, there is a big difference between both candidates, Trump has the staunch support of a large part of his party, now more than ever, but in Biden’s case it is not so clear. Republican voters are not considering a younger leader, but on the Democratic side many lawmakers are concerned. They are aware that the age of their candidate could reduce their support at the polls, and the worst thing is that at the moment there has been no strong, young option that would allow the new generations to make way.
Furthermore, Trump’s stumbles tend to go more unnoticed because he is lucky that Biden has not turned every mistake of his adversary into bait, a type of attack that the Republican does tend to take advantage of. That’s why all eyes are focused on the night of June 27, when the first presidential debate between both candidates will take place in Atlanta. The years, and how the passage of them affects each one, will surely be topics that will be discussed. And all this, just a few days before the Republican officially accepts in Milwaukee the party’s nomination of him as a presidential candidate for the third time.
