President Joe Biden held a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Wednesday in an effort to strengthen his position with voters in the must-win battleground state's largest city. And he was quickly dismissive of a reporter's question pertaining to his age.
Biden, who is the oldest president to seek a second term, would be 86 years old by the end of his eight-year tenure should he win reelection in November. CBS reporter Ed O'Keefe tweeted that after the rally, one journalist asked the 46th president of the United States if he planned to serve all four years of a second term, or if he planned to hand off the reins of power to Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Are you okay?" Biden said, reportedly pointing to his head. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"
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"I can't hear you. Can you approach?" The reporter asked.
"Did you fall on your head or something?" Biden said in response.
Despite his advanced age and demanding job, Biden has been keeping a busy campaign schedule in the 2024 cycle. After his State of the Union address — in which the Democratic president gave a fiery, energetic speech in front of Congress for more than an hour — Biden stormed a slew of swing states including Republican-leaning states like Florida and Texas. He also made appearances at a fundraiser in Manhattan alongside former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and poked fun at both the beltway media and at former President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
The Philadelphia speech at Girard College marked the first time Biden has stumped in his home state of Pennsylvania this year. Both Biden and Harris helped kick off an initiative aimed at organizing Black voters in advance of the November election. Black voters are particularly important for both Biden and Trump, as recent polls have shown Trump gaining with both Black and Hispanic Americans — demographics typically seen as reliable for Democratic turnout.
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Pennsylvania is one of the three so-called "Blue Wall" states (Michigan and Wisconsin are the other two) that have typically gone to Democrats in every recent presidential election with the exception of 2016. The Biden-Harris campaign is reportedly investing large sums in turning out voters in those three states, with the assumption that they will be easier for Democrats to hold in 2024 compared to more hotly contested battleground states like Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.
However, one wild card in the 2024 race could be Florida, where Trump is domiciled. While the Sunshine State's electoral votes have gone to Republicans in both 2016 and 2020, Florida voters are also voting on an abortion rights ballot initiative this November. Ever since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022 and paved the way for states to eliminate abortion rights, attempts to curtail abortion rights on the ballot have been unsuccessful. This is true even in redder states like Kansas, Kentucky and Montana, where voters all broke in favor of abortion rights in 2022, as well as Ohio in 2023.
Trump has likewise been holding campaign events in states typically seen as Democratic strongholds. He recently hosted an event in the South Bronx where he was joined onstage by rappers Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow (who have both been charged with conspiracy to commit murder) and weapons possession). The ex-president also campaigned in New Jersey, where he bemoaned his ongoing criminal trial, attacking both Judge Juan Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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