Are US Presidents Getting Older?

Joe Biden is turning 80 this year. When the 46th U.S. president was inaugurated in January of 2021, he was the oldest president in U.S. history by some margin. His predecessor, Donald Trump, had also been the oldest president to take office at his inauguration six years ago (he was 70 at the time).

As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz details below, if Biden was nominated for a second term, he would be 82 when assuming it in 2025. His old opponent Trump, who is expected to run again in 2024, would be 78.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Taking a look at all presidents’ ages at the time of their inauguration since 1789, no clear trend is visible. Before Trump and Biden, presidents’ ages were actually well below average. Barack Obama took office at 47 years and 169 days, according to Potus.com, making him the fifth youngest president at the time of inauguration.

Bill Clinton, who was 46 when he took over, was the third youngest – only John F. Kennedy (43) and Teddy Roosevelt (42) were younger.

Some of the oldest presidents hail from past centuries. William Henry Harrison was 68 at his inauguration in 1841 (he died a month later of typhoid and pneumonia), making him the fourth-oldest president ever. James Buchanan, who took office in 1857, was the fifth-oldest president at 65.

The reason we bring this up is that age is the most cited reason why a majority of Democrats do not want President Biden to primary for 2024,  with a bad job performance following close behind.

You will find more infographics at Statista

According to The Advocate, it has been almost 170 years since an incumbent president has lost his party’s nomination, the last having been Democrat Franklin Pierce in 1856 over his support of slavery.