A former Obama adviser says Joe Biden's age is a red flag

David Axelrod, a former adviser to Barack Obama during his presidency, raised a “major” red flag about the possibility of President Joe Biden’s plans to run for re-election in 2024.

The former Obama adviser’s statements appeared in a Saturday New York Times report that examined the growing presence of prominent Democrats who are increasingly worried about Biden’s leadership, the Washington Examiner reported.

Axelrod specifically noted his concerns with Biden’s elevated age noting that Biden would be nearly 90-years-old by the end of his second term if he wins reelection.

Axelrod said, “The presidency is a monstrously taxing job, and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue.”

However, this past December, Biden said that he would run for reelection if he was in good health.

Biden said, “I’ m a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I'm in the health I'm in now, if I'm in good health, then, in fact, I would run again.”

Among Biden’s critics, questions about the president’s health are increasingly common. His critics tend to highlight his wavering mental acuity and inconsistent displays of physical energy by the president.

The concerns coming from Democrats about Biden’s competency as Commander in Chief are beginning to intensify as Democrats grow increasingly anxious about the 2022 midterm elections in which Republicans are widely expected to win back control of at least one chamber of Congress.

Should Biden refuse to seek a second term as president, there is reportedly a long roster of younger politicians who will likely seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. It is likely that among these people, one will find former rivals of Biden’s in 2020 who later joined his presidential administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

It has also been theorized that Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) might once again seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency.

Speculation over whether Biden will end up seeking a second term as president will likely continue so long as his poll numbers continue to fall.

A recent Morning Consult/Politico poll found that less than half of Democrats (37%) “strongly approve” of Biden’s performance as president.

According to a Quinnipiac poll from around the same time, only 33% of American adults approve of how Biden is handling his role.