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
Yes because some people are too old to function as a president correctly. I think it should be required because so many of our presidents have done crazy things. I think there should be an age limit because there is a required age and if you think about is, is there really a difference in how you act wheather you're super young or super old?
I think there should be an age limit for how old presidents can be. I think that having to be 35 or older is a fair age limit and I think there should also be a max age for being president. Mental and physical health diminishes as you get older, and this could be a problem when trying to run a country.
Good point, older presidents could experience a decrease in mental and physical health throughout the term, which could create a problem.
I think there should definetly be an age limit for presidents. Just like you have to be over 35 to be able to be president, there should be a max aswell. A person's health can decline as they get older, and they could cause many problems while running a country.
I agree, if the minimum age is there for a reason then a max age could also be created for similar reasons.
I think there should be an age limit for the president because they cant do much and some do have dementia. So by having older presidents there could be more risk of them dying and not as good ideas for a country. I do think mental and physical testing should be requried because then you would know who is stable to be a good president. I think a good age limit would be 35 to atleast 70 or 75 because you would know what your doing and also for the older people you would have a good retierment and not be worrying about things that they maybe couldnt handle.
I do believe that there should be a age limit on how old the president should be because they could die in office then we would have to worry about who would be going into the office next instead of worrying about the country. I do think a mental and physical should be tested. I think a good age limit would have to be at least below their 70's.
I think there should be an age limit for running for president. If a president gets to be too old, then they might have more health problems to worry about instead of putting all their efforts into leading the country. I think that having a mental and phycial test is a good idea to make sure they have all the qualities to be a good president.
I agree, if a president it too old and has health issues to worry about they will not be able to focus all of their attention on the problems of the country, which is a big deal.
I think there should be an age limit for the president. To make sure all presidents are "mature". I think the age limit should be around there 70's. I also think everyone running for president should have to do a mental and physical test.
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