Topline
President Joe Biden made light of his 81st birthday Monday while pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys at the White House, then confused pop stars Taylor Swift and Britney Spears in a moment that underscored concerns about his age as he has increasingly leaned into humor in order to mitigate them.
President Joe Biden arrives to pardon turkeys, Liberty and Bell, from Willmar, Minn., during the … [+]
Key Facts
Biden, making a joke about the “competition” among turkeys to be included in the annual White House tradition, equated it with getting tickets to “Britney’s tour . . . in Brazil,” where Swift performed over the weekend (Spears has not performed live since 2017).
The apparent mix-up adds to Biden’s long history of rhetorical gaffes that his critics have increasingly attributed to his age, and comes as Swift’s mega-celeb status has exploded amid her sold-out Eras Tour and romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Moments earlier, Biden, who turned 81 Monday, told the crowd gathered at the White House it was the 76th anniversary of the event and jokingly added “I want you to know: I wasn’t there at the first one.”
Addressing his birthday, the president said sarcastically “it’s difficult turning 60.”
Crucial Quote
“Just to get here, Liberty and Bell had to beat some tough odds and competition,” Biden said, referring to the two turkeys he pardoned. “You could say it’s even harder than getting a ticket to the Renaissance tour or, or Britney’s tour. She’s down, it’s kind of warm in Brazil right now.”
Big Number
71%. That’s the share of voters in six swing states who said Biden is too old to be president, according to a recent New York Times/Siena poll, compared to 39% who said the same about former President Donald Trump, 77.
Key Background
Biden frequently makes jokes about his age in what is reportedly part of a concerted effort to address voters’ concerns that he is too old to be president, according to Politico, which interviewed more than a dozen donors, strategists and party officials in his orbit who said there is widespread disagreement about how to handle the issue. Last week, while speaking to union workers in Illinois, an audience member fell down, to which Biden replied “I want the press to know that wasn’t me,” an apparent reference to his repeated on-camera stumbles. The Biden campaign has also ramped up its attacks on Trump, who has displayed several moments of confusion in recent weeks, mixing up Biden with former President Barack Obama at least seven times, along with the names of cities and world leaders.
Tangent
Former Republican President Ronald Reagan is the third-oldest president in history, behind Biden and Trump. He also frequently joked about his age on the campaign trail. In one memorable moment from a1984 debate, when Reagan was 73, he told the moderator “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” referring to his Democratic opponent Walter Mondale.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/11/20/biden-confuses-taylor-swift-with-britney-spears-after-joking-about-his-age-on-his-81st-birthday/