Unless a shocking unexpected event occurs, the election for the next president of the United States will be a repeat of the 2020 election race – Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump.

Voters will therefore be asked to choose between a 78-year-old (Trump) and an 81-year-old (Biden) – which means that whichever of the two wins the election, on January 20, 2025, will become the oldest person to be sworn in as president of the United States.

The average age of US presidents when they take office is placed at 55, according to the Pew Research Centre. The next president will either be entering or already in his eighth decade of life – to rule a nation with an average age of 38.9 years.

The age of the candidates is thus a central issue in the election – which is not particularly surprising. “There is an objective concern about age. And that’s perfectly legitimate,” Larry Sabato, director at the University of Virginia’s Center for Political Science, comments to DW.

“I don’t think people should be judged solely on the basis of their age.

But at the same time it is obvious that the older one is, the more likely one is to develop serious health problems or even die earlier than one would expect.”

President Biden has repeatedly confused the names of foreign leaders and various celebrities.

Recently, when asked about the war in the Middle East, he referred to Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the president of Mexico, while Sisi is the president of Egypt – and of course while Mexico does not border Gaza.

Moreover, in his public appearances Biden seems somewhat weaker compared to how he behaved during his 2020 campaign.

“What worries people is not his age itself,” explains liberal columnist and author Ezra Klein.

“But the impression Biden creates of old age: his slowness and frailty.”