Former President Donald Trump denied on Wednesday that political rival President Joe Biden is "too old" to hold federal office.
Trump is the current GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election. With Biden as the Democratic incumbent, the two will likely have a re-match in November.
The former president posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Wednesday: "Biden is not too old, he's too incompetent!"
Newsweek reached out to Trump's and Biden's campaigns via email for comment.
Age and cognitive ability have been a major talking point in the upcoming election, with Biden being 81 years old and Trump 77. While both have been mocked for speech gaffes, Biden has taken the brunt of the criticism.
A recent report by Special Counsel Robert Hur into Biden's handling of classified documents seemed to make matters worse, with Hur characterizing the president as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
Critics of the report felt that Hur, a Republican and former Trump appointee, made unnecessary politically motivated statements in his report, like when referencing Biden's "poor memory." They also felt that Hur, a worker for the Department of Justice wasn't qualified to make a medical assessment of the president.
Trump has also been criticized for statements he made on the campaign trial.
During a speech at a National Rifle Association gathering on Friday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump warned that if the Republican Party doesn't win the presidential election, the state will be subjected to a name change.
"We have to, we have to win in November, or we're not gonna have — Pennsylvania? They'll change the name," the former president said. "They're gonna change the name of Pennsylvania."
Critics also came down on Trump for comments he made about threatening to not support North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries who don't pay their dues and actually "encouraging" other countries, like Russia, to go after the military alliance at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Saturday.
In an anecdote about how he handled NATO during his presidential term, Trump said: "I said everybody's gonna pay. They said, 'Well if we don't pay are you still going to protect us?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' They couldn't believe the answer. You've never saw more money pour in."
"They asked me that question, one of the presidents of a big country, stood up, said, 'Well sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?' I said, 'You didn't pay, you're delinquent?' He said, 'yes.' Let's say that happened. No, I would not protect you, in fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
