“The View” co-host Joy Behar said David Axelrod, a former adviser to former President Barack Obama, should “keep his mouth shut” about President Joe Biden’s age.
The panel contemplated whether Biden should run for a second term in 2024, in which guest co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin quoted Axelrod saying the president will be 82 years old at the beginning of a potential second term. She said Biden does not have the “strength and sharpness” he once had.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg wondered which Republican has a shot at securing the 2024 presidential nomination. Co-host Sunny Hostin said she hopes “Death-Santis,” in reference to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, does not run and opposes the ageism argument against Biden.
“I hope it’s not Death-Santis. I think he handled COVID miserably,” Hostin said. “I think he’s a fascist and a bigot. I think that people saying he’s [Biden] is too old, I mean, the former twice-impeached disgraced president, he’s such a young spring chicken. He’s gonna be 78 when Joe Biden is 81 and so I don’t like this ageism argument.” (RELATED: Former Obama Officials Line Up To Criticize Biden Over Afghanistan Withdrawal)
Hostin said many Democrats have “verve and energy,” including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Behar, disputing the age argument, said Biden lives a healthy lifestyle by working out everyday.
Griffin said there are “sane” Republicans, namely former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who have a shot at winning the nomination. Goldberg told her she was being “ageist” toward the president and pointed to former President Ronald Reagan having Alzheimers when he was younger than Biden or Trump, so therefore age should not play a factor in one’s ability to govern effectively.
“You know, David Axelrod should keep his mouth shut,” Behar added. “And Ronald Reagan’s rule was ‘thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican’ and I say unto you, David Axelrod, do not speak ill of a fellow Democrat.”
Axelrod, along with other Democrats, have expressed doubt about the president running for a second term, calling his age a “major issue” and is not as “agile” in front of the camera as he once was.
“And part of the reason he doesn’t [get credit] is performative,” Axelrod said. “He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of a camera as he once was, and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality.”