When it comes to the possibility of being elected president, former Vice President Joe Biden (D) has vowed that he would not run for a second term if his “energy and mental acuity” decline over his first term.
Speaking at a CNN town hall on Thursday evening in Las Vegas, Nevada, Biden was asked by an audience member about concerns regarding his age — Biden is 77 years old — as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) age, who is 78 years old. To compare, President Donald Trump is 73 years old.
Asked if he becomes the nominee for the Democratic Party if he would “commit to only one term if it meant uniting our party,” Biden shot it down, “No I wouldn’t do that.”
“I tell you what, you’re going to be able to make a judgment,” Biden continued, adding a joke about Pete Buttigieg’s age, “And, by the way, the two youngest people on the stage now are me and Buttigieg,” prompting laughter from the audience.
Buttigieg is 38 years old and the youngest 2020 Democratic presidential contender.
Biden later added that he is currently in “pretty good health” but if his health were to decline, not allowing him to get the job done as president, he “would not run again.”
“I’m in pretty good health, but, look, I guarantee you this: If anything changed in my health, making it incapable for me to fully exert all the energy and mental acuity that was needed to be done, then I give you my word: I would not run again.”
Watch the video below:
When asked if he would only run for one term due to his age, Joe Biden, 77, plainly said no. "It's totally legitimate for ya to ask about my age, or anybody else's age up there and our health. That's why I give all my medical records." #CNNTownHall https://t.co/RDjh8Bhu2w pic.twitter.com/lw4wyDMhUP
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 21, 2020
The former vice president also said, “You shouldn’t vote for me because I’ve been vice president or because I’ve been a senator or chairman of a committee, you should vote for me based on whether I get the job done. … And with age comes experience, with experience hopefully judgment and with some judgment hopefully some wisdom.”