Why Biden’s Age Has Become a Bigger Deal Than Trump’s
为什么拜登的年龄比特朗普的年龄更重要

Joe Biden is less than four years older than Donald Trump. When Biden became the oldest President to ever be sworn in back in 2021, it was Trump’s record he was breaking. Now, the two men once again appear set to be the oldest pair of major party nominees in history.
乔·拜登比唐纳德·特朗普大不到四岁。当拜登在2021年成为有史以来最年长的总统时，这是特朗普打破的记录。现在，这两人似乎再次成为历史上最年长的一对主要政党候选人。

And yet, polls show voters far more worried about whether the 81-year-old President could handle another four years in the White House than his 77-year-old predecessor, a concern that exploded into the forefront this week after a report alleged Biden exhibited multiple memory lapses. Conversations with voters, political strategists and others suggest that those sentiments are about more than Biden being older than Trump; it’s how the behavior and appearance of the two men, but Biden in particular, has changed in recent years.
然而，民意调查显示，选民更担心这位81岁的总统是否能比他77岁的前任在白宫再待四年，在一份报告称拜登表现出多次记忆失误后，这一担忧本周爆发到最前沿。与选民、政治战略家和其他人的对话表明，这些情绪不仅仅是拜登比特朗普年长;这就是这两个人的行为和外表，尤其是拜登，近年来发生了怎样的变化。

“Look at everything that's gone on in the last three years with that dude,” says Travis Aslin, an Iowa independent who says he used to support Democrats but can’t bring himself to vote for Biden. “The word salad, the stumbling, you know, standing on a stage and looking like—honest to God, he looks like my grandfather did. My grandfather had Alzheimer's.” 
“看看过去三年里那个家伙发生的一切，”爱荷华州独立人士特拉维斯·阿斯林（Travis Aslin）说，他说他曾经支持民主党人，但不能让自己投票给拜登。“沙拉这个词，磕磕绊绊，你知道，站在舞台上，看起来——对上帝诚实，他看起来像我的祖父。我爷爷患有阿尔茨海默氏症。

With the oldest presidential matchup in American history upon us, issues of health and competency are likely to come up again and again over the next nine months. And both campaigns will be working to make their opponent seem doddy, senile, and infirm, and their own guy the picture of vim and vigor. 
随着美国历史上最古老的总统对决即将到来，健康和能力问题可能会在未来九个月里一次又一次地出现。这两个竞选活动都将努力让他们的对手看起来狡猾、衰老和虚弱，而他们自己的人则充满活力和活力。

Perhaps the most damaging ammunition in that fight came on Thursday in a report on an investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. Special Counsel Robert Hur, a Republican and former Trump appointee, said he wasn’t bringing charges against Biden, but alleged the President couldn’t remember basic facts and described him as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The Trump campaign quickly put out a statement referring to Biden as “senile.” The President held a last-minute news conference where he insisted "My memory is fine,” and fumed at Hur’s accusations.
也许这场斗争中最具破坏性的弹药出现在周四的一份关于拜登处理机密文件的调查报告中。特别检察官、前特朗普任命的共和党人罗伯特·胡尔（Robert Hur）表示，他没有对拜登提出指控，但声称总统不记得基本事实，并将他描述为“一个富有同情心、善意、记忆力差的老人”。特朗普竞选团队迅速发表声明，称拜登为“老年”。总统在最后一刻举行了新闻发布会，他坚称“我的记忆很好”，并对胡尔的指控感到愤怒。

The latest attack on Biden’s mental acuity follows recent efforts by Biden’s team to turn the tables on Trump, who has had his own share of flubs. A new ad from the Biden camp highlights how Trump recently confused Nikki Haley, his last remaining opponent for the GOP nomination, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Both Haley and Biden have used recent Trump mix-ups to hammer the former President on his competency; the Biden ad even features a clip of Haley saying, “He’s not what he was in 2016. He has declined.” Then, the video pivots to Trump’s other stumbles, including his claims that he won all 50 states (he didn’t) and that you need voter ID to buy a loaf of bread (you don’t).
对拜登精神敏锐度的最新攻击是在拜登的团队最近努力扭转特朗普的局面之后发生的，特朗普也有自己的失误。拜登阵营的一则新广告凸显了特朗普最近如何将他最后剩下的共和党提名对手尼基·黑利与前众议院议长南希·佩洛西混为一谈。黑利和拜登都利用最近的特朗普混淆来打击这位前总统的能力;拜登的广告甚至有一段黑莉说的片段，“他不是 2016 年的样子。他拒绝了。然后，视频转向特朗普的其他绊脚石，包括他声称他赢得了所有 50 个州（他没有），以及你需要选民身份证才能买一条面包（你不需要）。

“President Trump continues to dominate in poll after poll, both in the primary and general elections,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung wrote in a statement to TIME. “There is no other candidate in history who has the energy and stamina President Trump has, and he will out-work and out-pace Joe Biden to save America.”
“特朗普总统继续在一次又一次的民意调查中占据主导地位，无论是在初选还是大选中，”特朗普发言人史蒂文·张（Steven Cheung）在给《时代》杂志的一份声明中写道。“历史上没有其他候选人拥有特朗普总统所拥有的精力和耐力，他将超越乔·拜登来拯救美国。”

Some of Biden’s public stumbles have arguably been worse than Trump’s. In 2022, he asked whether a congresswoman who had recently died in a car accident was at a White House event. Last year, he referred to the war in Ukraine as the war in Iraq. At a campaign event in Las Vegas this month, Biden suggested he recently met with former French President François Mitterrand, who died almost thirty years ago, before quickly correcting himself. Later, he confused German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the late Helmut Kohl. On Thursday, he mixed up the Mexican and Egyptian presidents. 
拜登的一些公开失误可以说比特朗普更糟糕。2022 年，他询问最近死于车祸的国会女议员是否参加了白宫的活动。去年，他将乌克兰战争称为伊拉克战争。本月在拉斯维加斯举行的一次竞选活动中，拜登表示，他最近会见了近三十年前去世的法国前总统弗朗索瓦·密特朗，然后迅速纠正了自己。后来，他将德国总理安格拉·默克尔与已故的赫尔穆特·科尔混为一谈。周四，他把墨西哥和埃及总统混为一谈。

But while Trump has a habit of bulldozing through outlandish remarks at every rally he holds, the frequency of his public appearances may lessen the impact in the minds of voters of any of those statements. Meanwhile, some voters have the impression that Biden is dodging the public. 
但是，尽管特朗普习惯于在他举行的每次集会上发表古怪的言论，但他公开露面的频率可能会减少这些言论在选民心目中的影响。与此同时，一些选民认为拜登是在躲避公众。

“When you look at access and transparency to the public, you do see a difference,” says Scott Strunc, a Republican small-business owner from Omaha who backed Trump in 2020 but says he won’t vote for him again. “There's not a hesitancy by Trump, but there seems to be a protection of President Biden.” 
“当你看到公众的可及性和透明度时，你确实看到了不同，”来自奥马哈的共和党小企业主斯科特·斯特伦克说，他在 2020 年支持特朗普，但表示他不会再次投票给他。“特朗普没有犹豫，但拜登总统似乎得到了保护。”

Biden’s decision to speak with reporters Thursday to respond to Hur’s report highlighted how rarely he participates in such encounters. He has had fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews than his predecessors, and opted to skip the traditional Super Bowl interview this weekend. While he is participating in rallies and fundraisers, he is also taking the advice of advisers who have urged him to do more informal campaign stops, which they believe play to his strengths as a retail politician and help him to appear more youthful. Joining the president on a recent ride in his motorcade, one supporter said he was surprised to find that Biden seemed “very sharp.” And his team is focused on contrasting Trump and Biden on issues besides age and acuity. 
拜登周四决定与记者交谈以回应胡尔的报告，这凸显了他很少参加此类会议。与他的前任相比，他的新闻发布会和静坐采访更少，并选择跳过本周末传统的超级碗采访。在他参加集会和筹款活动的同时，他也听取了顾问的建议，这些顾问敦促他进行更多非正式的竞选活动，他们认为这发挥了他作为零售政治家的优势，并帮助他看起来更年轻。一位支持者最近与总统一起乘坐他的车队说，他惊讶地发现拜登似乎“非常敏锐”。他的团队专注于在年龄和敏锐度以外的问题上对比特朗普和拜登。

“There are big differences between the President and Donald Trump, and that's ultimately what Americans will be voting on in November,” wrote campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt in a statement to TIME. “President Biden was the first president to walk a picket line, and Donald Trump wants to give even more tax cuts to his Park Avenue friends.  Biden will restore Roe, and Trump would ban abortion nationally. President Biden will protect our democracy, and Donald Trump is an election denier."
“总统和唐纳德·特朗普之间存在巨大差异，这最终是美国人将在11月投票的结果，”竞选发言人劳伦·希特（Lauren Hitt）在给《时代》杂志的一份声明中写道。“拜登总统是第一位走纠察线的总统，唐纳德·特朗普希望为他的公园大道朋友提供更多减税。拜登将恢复罗伊案，特朗普将在全国范围内禁止堕胎。拜登总统将保护我们的民主，而唐纳德·特朗普是选举否认者。

Still, a recent Gallup survey indicated that fewer than a third of Americans would be willing to vote for an otherwise qualified nominee of their party over eighty years old. A Reuters/Ipsos poll   found that three quarters of Americans, including more than half of Democrats, think Biden is too old to work in government, with only half of voters and a third of Republicans saying the same thing about Trump. A January NBC poll found nearly identical numbers saying they had  concerns about Biden’s health, while less than half of respondents said the same thing about Trump. 
尽管如此，盖洛普最近的一项调查显示，只有不到三分之一的美国人愿意投票给八十岁以上的党内合格候选人。路透社/益普索的一项民意调查发现，四分之三的美国人，包括超过一半的民主党人，认为拜登太老了，不能在政府工作，只有一半的选民和三分之一的共和党人对特朗普说同样的话。美国全国广播公司（NBC）1月份的一项民意调查发现，几乎相同的数字表示他们对拜登的健康状况感到担忧，而只有不到一半的受访者对特朗普表示同样的看法。

A health summary released by Biden’s physician early last year described him as “healthy,” “vigorous,” and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” Trump, known for often subsisting on McDonalds and Coca-Cola, is no spring chicken, though his doctor released a note in November indicating his test results were normal, he had lost weight, and “his cognitive exams were exceptional.” 
拜登的医生去年年初发布的一份健康摘要将他描述为“健康”、“精力充沛”和“适合成功履行总统职责”。以经常以麦当劳和可口可乐为生的特朗普不是春鸡，尽管他的医生在11月发布了一份说明，表明他的测试结果正常，他的体重减轻了，并且“他的认知检查非常出色”。

One Democratic strategist blamed a media double standard for the disproportionate concern about Biden’s age compared to Trump’s. “But you peel back the layers a little bit more and it's a little bit more complicated,” added the strategist, who requested anonymity to speak more freely about the leader of his party. “As someone who's watched him age over the years, it’s basically the same guy I've been watching for years, but he's just—his gait is so stiff. It just sometimes gives Republicans, the RNC, a lot to talk about.” 
一位民主党策略师将拜登的年龄与特朗普的年龄不成比例的担忧归咎于媒体的双重标准。“但是你再剥开一点层，它就更复杂了一点，”这位战略家补充道，他要求匿名，以便更自由地谈论他的政党领导人。“作为一个多年来一直看着他变老的人，这基本上是我多年来一直在观察的同一个人，但他只是——他的步态太僵硬了。它有时会给共和党人，RNC，很多话要说。

Beverly Hallberg, who provides media coaching to Republicans as president of District Media Group, says Biden has long drawn attention for his occasional gaffes. When he became Vice President, she says, those moments helped cultivate a “‘Joe's just one of us’ type of mentality” for many voters. 
贝弗利·哈尔伯格（Beverly Hallberg）作为地区媒体集团（District Media Group）总裁为共和党人提供媒体指导，他说，拜登长期以来一直因偶尔的失态而受到关注。她说，当他成为副总统时，这些时刻帮助许多选民培养了一种“乔只是我们中的一员”的心态。

“He could get up there and command an audience. He sounded strong when he was speaking, his consonants were clear,” she says. 

What’s changed more recently, Hallberg argues, is the way Biden speaks, which she describes as a “slurring” and “mumbling.” The public saw a flash of that issue when he responded to Hur’s report Thursday night, eliding words when he talked about how long he sat with the Special Counsel. 

Some superficial factors are also shaping voter perceptions. 

Patrick Kenger, a men’s stylist with Pivot Image Consultancy, says Biden’s gray hair may make voters view him as more than three years older than Trump. “Typically, the more gray that you have in your hair, your beard, you're going to come off as a little bit older,” he says. 

To be fair, both men's public appearances draw their fair share of scrutiny. A recent Getty photo appeared to highlight how much make-up Trump was wearing, his face glistening and orange at an Iowa rally. Still, Kenger adds that Biden’s skin has less of a youthful look than Trump’s. “You could chalk this up to genetics,” he says. 

When Megyn Kelly suggested to Trump in a September interview that he must have good genes, he agreed, noting that his dad lived into his 90s. “It’s really a parental thing,” he said. “I believe in the racehorse theory. Fast horses produce fast horses.” 

But, perhaps sensing his own vulnerabilities on the age question, Trump passed up an opportunity to attack Biden over the issue. When Kelly asked if Biden was too old to be president, Trump said age had nothing to do with it. 

“Age is interesting ‘cause some people are very sharp and some people do lose it,” Trump said, adding, “But no, he's not too old at all. He's grossly incompetent. You look at some of the great world leaders, they were in their 80s and they did—Churchill, so many people, they were phenomenal in their 80s. There’s a great wisdom if you’re not in a position like him.” 

Soon enough, voters will decide if they agree. 

“I am concerned; eighty is old and you do need a president who can do the job,” says Ethan Hughes, a 21-year-old student in Iowa and a Democrat. “I don't think it's my primary concern.”

Hughes adds that he definitely won’t vote for Trump. He’s pleased with Biden’s accomplishments. His grandmother’s farm in Mason City got high-speed internet last year thanks to the infrastructure bill. And when he has seen Biden out and about, Hughes has been satisfied enough.

“He does look healthy,” Hughes says. “He’s on his bike all the time. He's walking around. Eating a bit too much ice cream, maybe, but who wouldn't?”