Fact Check Team: Are US presidents getting older?
WASHINGTON (TND) — President Joe Biden will turn 81 next year and with the presidential election just 553 days away, age is a major topic of discussion.
Congress today is older than it has ever been. In fact, the median age is 59 years old. The presidency, however, isn’t seeing the same trend.
Biden is the oldest to serve as commander-in-chief after being sworn in at 78 years old, and before him so was Donald Trump, sworn in at 70 years old. Taking a look at the ages of presidents at their time of inauguration since 1789, there isn’t a clear upward trend.
The top10 oldest presidents in U.S. history — by the age they took office — are as follows:
- Joe Biden (2021): 78
- Donald Trump (2017): 70
- Ronald Reagan (1981): 69
- William Henry Harrison (1841): 68
- James Buchanan (1857): 65
- George H.W. Bush (1989): 64
- Zachary Taylor (1849): 64
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953): 62
- Andrew Jackson (1829): 61
- John Adams (1797): 61
Interestingly enough, five out of ten of the oldest presidents served in the 1700s-1800s. The average age of the president is around 56 yearsold, but before Biden and Trump, the president's ages were actually below average.
The topfive youngest presidents— by the age they took office — are as follows:
- Theodore Roosevelt (1901): 42
- John F. Kennedy (1961): 43
- Bill Clinton (1993): 46
- Ulysses S. Grant (1869): 46
- Barack Obama (2009): 47
John F. Kennedy was the youngest president voted into office, while Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president that served in office.
The Constitution lays out requirements for presidential candidates, including a minimum age limit of 35 years old but there is no maximum age limit. However, two constitutional amendments do address other limitations. The 22nd Amendment proscribes term limits and the 25th Amendment establishes how an ailing president may be removed from office.
Congress is another branch of the U.S. government that faces criticism for not having an age maximum. This has been especially true with the absence of Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calf., from the chamber because of health complications.
Out of all the Congresses since 1789, the 118th Congress has the second-oldest Senate and the third-oldest House. According to Pew Research Center, the Senate’s median age is 65.3 years, and the House’s median age of voting is 57.9 years.
There is hardly an age difference between Republicans and Democrats. Overall, the median age for House Republicans is 57.4; it’s 58.1 for House Democrats. In the Senate, the median age is 65.4 for Democrats and 65.3 for Republicans.
A poll from YouGovAmerica found 58% of Americans think there should be maximum age limits for elected officials. 39% say that the age limit should be 70 years of age. Another poll from Ipsos found that 67% of Americans think there should be a maximum age limit for U.S. presidents as well as members of the Senate and House.