Does Washington Have Senioritis?

Biden
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Julia Ioffe
November 30, 2021

Shortly before pardoning the Thanksgiving turkeys at the White House, President Joe Biden temporarily transferred the power of his office to Vice President Kamala Harris while he underwent a routine colonoscopy. It was part of his annual physical, during which Biden was found to have a small, benign polyp, some acid reflux, and arthritis. These were utterly unremarkable medical findings for a 78-year-old man, except that this particular senior citizen happens to be the oldest man ever elected to the presidency, one whose age and supposed senility are often speculated about and used as a cudgel by his political enemies and regularly mocked by late-night hosts.