Another incident with US President Joe Biden, who stumbled and fell during the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony, again drew attention to his medical condition. The 80-year-old politician has announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election and, if he wins, he will leave the White House at 86. Biden’s age and possible health issues are discussed by both the Democrat’s political opponents and the media. What is known about the health of the American leader and the way the succession of power is organized in the United States, Russian media has understood.
What do we know about Biden’s health?
Joe Biden, 80, is the oldest president in US history and will be 86 at the end of a possible second term. Unexpected actions he engaged before his presidency used foul language, urged a disabled politician to get up from his chair during a rally and called Obama “the first famous African-American who is articulate, smart, clean and handsome”. Some bind those awkward moments with the speech impediment of the president – he suffered from stuttering in childhood, but with age he was able to get rid of this problem.
Since his election as president, Biden’s sometimes inappropriate behavior has become even more evident, with observers noting his unsteady gait and gestures, as well as his autumn . However, during the leadership of the country, Biden was not seriously injured and was not absent for long in public.
From published According to Biden’s health records, the president is known to take general tonic pills and suffer from several ailments that do not pose a serious threat. One of them is non-valvular atrial fibrillation, which can cause heart rhythm disturbances. Biden was diagnosed with the disease in 2003, but it is asymptomatic so the politician does not need treatment.
Biden takes the drug Crestor to combat hyperlipidemia – excess fat in the blood, which leads to the development of atherosclerosis, as well as the drug Nexium for gastroesophageal reflux – a disorder in which the contents of the stomach goes up into the esophagus. In the past, Biden has had multiple surgeries to remove a gallbladder, brain aneurysm and malignant skin tumor.
Also, the US President has arthritis, but that’s also a common problem.
American men who reach the age of 80 live an average of another 7 years and 7 months, underline WSJ. Older people are more likely to suffer from forgetfulness, increased fatigue and bone dystrophy, which increases the risk of injury, but not everyone suffers from these ailments, noted questioned person expert edition. Much depends on the heredity of a particular person and his way of life, therefore, it is impossible to draw unambiguous conclusions that old age is necessarily associated with diseases, American doctors .
In February, the president’s attending physician Kevin O’Connor informed that the health of the Head of State fully allows him to exercise his functions without restriction.
Biden was born into a family of centenarians: his father died at 86, his mother at 92. The American leader also exercises regularly, does not smoke or drink alcohol. “I’m probably the only Irishman you’ve ever met who hasn’t touched a glass in his life.” joked Biden, denied alcohol because of alcoholism problems in his relatives.
What do Americans think of Biden’s age?
No matter how things go with Biden’s health in reality, his age causes American skepticism. 70% of respondents think Biden, 80, should not seek a second term, stems from investigation NBC News channel in April (sample – 1000 people). 48% of those polled said Biden’s old age is one of the “significant factors” why he should not run for re-election.
Half of Americans think the ideal age for a head of state is between 51 and 65. should based on a survey by USA Today and Suffolk University.
Biden himself is looking to prove he’s in good shape, “joking” about claims to his age. “I believe in the First Amendment (to the US Constitution) – and not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it.” said it refers to one of America’s founding fathers who died in 1836.
“You call me old? I call myself experienced. You call me old? I say I’m wise,” Biden said, speaking at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual party.
Who will replace Biden in the event of a health problem
Biden has surrounded himself with a young team – by political standards. US Vice President Kamala Harris is 58, while the average age in the Biden administration is 59. For comparison, the average age of the Trump administration is 63, Obama is 56, and George W. Bush is 58, the data shows. given Brookings Institution. So even in the event of Biden’s health problems, the administration has someone to replace him.
United States Presidential Succession registered in the country’s constitution, and special law starting in 1947. If Biden temporarily or permanently loses his ability to lead the country, he will be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris, 58. The next in line is Speaker of the House of Representatives, a position now held by Republican Kevin McCarthy. After goes Acting Senate President (now Democrat Patty Murray), then cabinet ministers, starting with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Since 1789, vice presidents have succeeded the president nine times, eight times due to the latter’s death and once due to his resignation. Of the nine vice presidents who ascended to the office of head of state, four subsequently participated in the elections as presidential candidates and were able to win them – these are the Republicans Theodore Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge, as well as Democrats Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson.
Sometimes vice presidents take over as head of state for a short time – especially in the case of medical procedures. In 2021, Biden ceded power to Kamala Harris for a while until was under anesthesia during a colonoscopy as part of a routine examination. Previously, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan transferred their powers to the vice president for a short time – also for medical procedures.
Who can force Biden to resign?
There is no formal requirement for the president to undergo regular medical checkups and release data on his health. At the same time, heads of state, as a rule, voluntarily submit to surveys and publish their results. Biden published data on his state of health in 2019, as well as twice during his presidency – in November 2021 and in February 2023 .
However, if Biden’s entourage feels he is unable to perform his duties, it is possible to initiate proceedings to impeach him – this is provided for in Article 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. . He says the vice president and most heads of U.S. departments they have the right submit a joint written statement to the leaders of both houses of the U.S. Congress that “the President is unable to exercise his powers and duties”, and immediately after that, the office of President passes immediately to the Vice President. The president can challenge that decision, and then, for it to stay in effect, it will need the approval of a two-thirds vote in the Senate and the House of Representatives. If supporters of the president’s impeachment do not get enough votes, the president will be reinstated.
So far, there has not been a case in the history of the United States where a president has resigned from office due to his inability to perform his duties or has been removed from office by his administration.
The institution of presidential power is a powerful structure, and a political party – as if it were Democrats or Republicans – would not want to “return” its leader, even if he has health problems, said Valery Garbuzov, director of the Institute for the United States and Canada (ICC) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with Russian media. If the president falls ill, some of his duties may be taken over by his aides and deputies in order to survive until the end of the presidential term, the expert noted.
As an example, Garbuzov cited the situation of Republican President Ronald Reagan, who “slept for the last two years (of his presidency) in meetings of the Security Council”. Reagan had two sound machines, and after his presidential term ended, he officially diagnostic Alzheimer’s disease, but some claims that its first signs appeared during the second presidential term, notes the political scientist. “The reality is that even with such things, the party stands for its leader and will never give up on him, so as for Biden, even if he’s the President of the United States (and beyond), he doesn’t ( will not begin) solving problems on your own. In the United States of America, there is, I emphasize, a collective management system,” Garbuzov explained.
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