How old is too old to be president? The constitution clearly states that the president must be a natural-born U.S. citizen who is at least 35 years old. There is however no maximum age given. Many debate if the position should have an age cap or even required mental and physical testing.
74% of the United States presidents have been under 60 at the time of their inauguration.Our current president, Joe Biden, is 81. America’s last president, Donald Trump, was 74 while in office. To put this in perspective, U.S. Presidents have historically been in their 50’s. Famous presidents such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were 57 and 52 respectively. Having presidents these ages is a new trend. This raises the question: are presidents in their 80’s or even upper 70’s mentally and physically fit to be president?
Studies show “Around 10 percent of people over 70 years of age have some form of dementia. The risk increases with each passing year.” This concerns many because it is vital that someone with so much responsibility be very sharp. An additional concern is that: as people age they are more susceptible to diseases, and are also more likely to have sudden health changes.
On the other side, people argue that each case is different because all 80 year olds have different cognitive abilities. They also note the age minimum is there to ensure a level of experience and wisdom that older presidents have. Plus when the Constitution was drafted, a 60 year old was expected to live another 15 years. In 2020, men that age are expected to live another 22 years.
Personally, I think there should be an age limit for the president. If they are allowed to have an age minimum to ensure the president has certain qualities, they should also have an age limit for those same reasons. I also think younger presidents think more about the future of their decisions because they will affect them for more years.
https://potus.com/presidential-facts/age-at-inauguration/
Do you think there should be an age limit for the president?
Do you think mental and physical testing should be required?
What would be a good age limit and why?
Replies
Love the topic choice and super job Lily!!
I believed that there has to be an age limit, because just as it is required that the person who wants to run for president, governor, or whatever, has to be of legal age and already over 30 so that they can really create new ideas for improve something in our environment, take care of his people, make decisions not only for himself but thinking of all citizens.Yes I think that being very old also affects the mind a little, it no longer works the same.
I don't think there should be an age limit, but I do think that they should have to have a decent IQ. I think that there should be testing for both so we know that the person making most of the decisions for the country. I don't think there should be a neccessary age limit to the president.
I think there should be an age limit but if you are in the right physical and mental state then I think you should be able to bypass the age limit. I think there should be mental and physical testing because our presidents need to be able to make decisions for themselves and not have someone else speak for them. Also, I think it is important that our presidents can take care of themselves and physically be able to move around by themselves without help or guidance.
I think there should be an age limit on the presidency because if the president is too old he won't be able to do his job properly and the country will not do well because other people will have to fill his shoes. I think the age maximum should be 70-75 years because I feel like that's when you start slowing down as a person.
I think there should be something that they have to do like a test. maybe an age limit because you can lose it after the age 75ish also haveing younger people who are up to date with tech and so would be better for a president.
I agree, in a world where technology is developing so fast, the president must be able to keep up and understand the tech when making decisions over it.
I don't think there should be an age limit. I think testing should be required when you hit 65+ because you can see if the person has good cognitive ability or not. If there had to be an age limit maybe around 80-85 somewhere around there.
Good point, if you require testing at a certain age you could eliminate the need for an age limit.
I'm indecisive wheter there should be an age limit or not, because I don't think it is right to limit the age or limit opportunities, but I also think people obviously can change as they grow up. They might have different thoughts and we have to make sure that they now what they're doing.
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