Donald Trump is now the oldest candidate to run for president
Editor’s note (July 25th): This story has been updated since Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race, thus making Donald Trump the oldest candidate to run for office. Read our original analysis here.
HAD JOE BIDEN won America’s election in November he would have become the first president to begin a term as an octogenarian. After weeks (if not years) of growing concerns over his age, he finally withdrew from the campaign on July 21st. Days later Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, kicked off her campaign with an energised speech in Wisconsin. Despite being about two decades older than the average American, at 59 she injects some youth into the contest.
But America could still elect its oldest president ever. If Donald Trump, who turned 78 in June, were to win re-election he would enter the White House five months older than Mr Biden was when he became president in 2021. And beyond the White House, data compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a Swiss-based organisation, show that America has the oldest legislators in the rich world. The average age of those who sit in the House of Representatives and the Senate is 59, almost a decade older than the OECD average for elected lawmakers. Mr Trump is 19 years older than the average head of government in the same group.
Around 45% of America’s representatives are over the age of 60. That is a higher proportion than any other country in the OECD, where the average is 19%. Denmark, Belgium and Colombia have the youngest legislators: only around 10% of the people in elected positions are boomers or older, and many representatives are in their 30s. South Korea and Japan, where seniority is revered, rank closer to America, with average ages of 55 and 56 respectively.
The same data show that America has the least age-representative government of the OECD. In most countries lawmakers are roughly ten years older than the average for the population, and in Denmark, Germany, Finland and Belgium less than five years older. In America, however, the gulf is more than 20 years. The world was just getting to grips with push-button telephones when the average American lawmaker was born.
Since the 1940s political leaders across the OECD have become younger, even as life expectancy has risen. But in America the same generation has dominated politics for more than 30 years. The method by which candidates are recruited and the fact that incumbents tend to have an advantage are often put forward as reasons why older politicians tend to be over-represented. The context in which they grew up has also shaped their politics and staying power. Despite leaning into Gen Z memes that portray her as “brat”, Ms Harris was born at the tail end of the boomer generation. Whoever wins in November, boomers will retain their grip on American politics.■