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
I agree, age discrimination isn't a huge argument becuase we have an age minimum. Requiring the president to be under or above a certain age helps ensure important qualities.
I think there should just be a just a big limit for the president so they should only get up right to the age of 50 or 60 then after they reach that limit they should go and pick another president after they reach that age they should get a new one that is younger that the one that was about 60 years old.
I agree that is important for a new president to be chosen every so often. This is why we have a limit on how many terms and years a president can serve.
I think there should be a age limit becuase the people that run for president have been on this earth longer then most people. The people that have been on this year know what has been going on in the world and hopefully know how to make it better.
I agree, hopefully people who have been on the earth a long time can use their wisdom to come up with solutions, but are not too old that they forget this knowledge.
I think there should be an age limit aswell, I think that because a lot of people who are older (80s or 70s) do start to get dementia and that could hurt the U.S. I do think there should be physical and mental testing at least because that will prove that they are fit enough to be presandent. I think a good age limit would be like 65ish.
I think 65 would be a good age. That way you can still have a president in their 50's or 60's because they have experience, but are also not too old to be reliable.
I think there should be an age limit as well. If not an age limit, there should be a better system in physical in mental testing before someone can be elected. I feel like our president now has had many moments where he couldn't think straight and part of that is because of how old he is. I think most of it depends on how sharp the president is mentally.
I agree, having required physical and mental testing could prevent these kind of things from happening. It is better to prevent these situations then deal with their effects.
I think that their should be a age limt for president. I would say 75-80 years old should be the limit depending on your mental and physical state. If you are not fit to run for president then it can affect many others and possibly take down America too.
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