{"id":2305255,"date":"2024-07-22T11:56:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T15:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-hangs-on-to-bidens-age-as-democrats-target-trump-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-22T11:58:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T15:58:06","slug":"republicans-focus-on-bidens-age-while-democrats-go-after-trump-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-focus-on-bidens-age-while-democrats-go-after-trump-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans focus on Biden&#8217;s age while Democrats go after Trump &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-focus-on-bidens-age-while-democrats-go-after-trump-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2305255&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pressure-mounts-on-sheldon-whitehouse-to-resign-in-shame-over-ties-to-racist-beach-club\/\" title=\"Pressure Mounts on Sheldon Whitehouse To Resign in Shame Over Ties to Racist Beach Club\">recent political development<\/a>, Democrats successfully \u200bpushed\u2063 President Joe \u2063Biden out of the 2024 race, leading to\u200b concerns about \u200bhis mental fitness. Republicans continue to focus on Biden&#8217;s age\u2063 even as Democrats now target former President Donald Trump \u200bwith similar attacks. The GOP \u200bresponded to Biden&#8217;s exit by calling for his immediate resignation, while \u200calso accusing Vice President\u2063 Kamala Harris\u200d of covering up his cognitive decline. With Harris as the likely \u200dDemocratic\u200c nominee, Republicans may have to shift their campaign strategy. The ongoing focus on Biden&#8217;s age serves as a rallying point for Republicans, tapping \u200binto grassroots discontent. However, Republicans also plan to target Harris for her policies and actions, such as her handling of the border crisis. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-gop-field-has-a-trump-dilemma-that-the-latest-indictment-has-only-made-worse\/\" title=\"The GOP field has a Trump dilemma that the latest indictment has only made worse\">political landscape continues<\/a> \u2064to \u200cevolve as \u200bboth parties navigate the changing dynamics of the upcoming election.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Republicans hang on to Biden&rsquo;s age as Democrats turn it round on Trump<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1709436\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Democrats successfully forced President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> out of the 2024 race, and with him, concerns over his mental fitness.<\/p>\n<p>But that hasn&rsquo;t stopped Republicans from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3092914\/republicans-say-biden-should-resign-immediately-after-historic-campaign-exit-not-fit-to-serve\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>litigating his age<\/a>, even as Democrats feel freshly emboldened to level the same attacks against former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans responded to Biden&rsquo;s decision to step aside Sunday by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3092914\/republicans-say-biden-should-resign-immediately-after-historic-campaign-exit-not-fit-to-serve\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"calling on him to resign immediately\">calling on him to resign immediately<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president,&rdquo; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the main pro-Trump super PAC announced it would air commercials accusing Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden&rsquo;s likely successor, of &ldquo;covering up&rdquo; his apparent cognitive decline.<\/p>\n<p>The strategy is nearly identical to the one adopted after the president&rsquo;s disastrous debate performance last month, which brought into the open a Democratic panic that Biden could not win after he appeared frail and struggled to complete sentences.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) will <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepNancyMace\/status\/1815127983373345064\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>introduce a resolution<\/a> Monday calling on Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/live-blog-posts\/chip-roy-file-resolution-25th-amendment\/\">just as<\/a> Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) did following the debate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the other side of that mutiny, Republicans are left focusing on someone who will no longer be their opponent. Biden endorsed Harris shortly after announcing he would drop out, while most of the party has since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3093008\/hill-democrats-coalesce-harris-biden-endorsement\/\">coalesced around her<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Harris, 59, is almost 20 years younger than Trump and gives Democrats a chance to move past the age concerns against Biden.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have the vigor, we have the energy on our side,&rdquo; Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) said on CNN while alluding to Harris&rsquo;s background as a prosecutor. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s put prisoners and criminals behind bars.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some Democrats even <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mehdirhasan\/status\/1815128287154495851\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>accused<\/a> Trump of being &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ejeancarroll\/status\/1815109743985229957\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>too old<\/a>&rdquo; for office, as if to poke Republicans in the eye for lodging the same complaint about Biden.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re comparing a 59-year-old now against somebody who&rsquo;s almost 80,&rdquo; said Steve Maviglio, a Democratic strategist in California. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s legitimate, just the way the criticisms of Biden were legitimate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen how and to what extent Democrats focus on Trump&rsquo;s age. A third of voters believe he is too old to be president, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/646547\/age-issues-working-trump-advantage-pre-debate.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>compared to<\/a> the two-thirds who felt the same way about Biden. At the same time, Trump remains active on the trail and has not demonstrated the mental decline seen with Biden.<\/p>\n<p>But the upshot of Biden&rsquo;s withdrawal is Republicans no longer have the same foil. They spent their convention this week portraying Trump as strong and Biden as &ldquo;decrepit,&rdquo; but they will now have to overhaul their campaign strategy.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re gonna have to recalibrate that message. They&rsquo;re gonna have to run against their record, as opposed to against the personality,&rdquo; said Republican strategist John Feehery, who called the change in ticket a &ldquo;clarifying moment&rdquo; for the GOP.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Joe Biden attends Working Session III of the NATO Summit in Washington, July 11, 2024.  (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That&rsquo;s easier to do with Harris than Biden. She ran to Biden&rsquo;s left in the 2020 Democratic primary for president, and her role as vice president has allowed Republicans to transfer all of Biden&rsquo;s policy baggage to her, including his handling of the border.<\/p>\n<p>Already, the Trump campaign has begun to attack Harris as Biden&rsquo;s &ldquo;border czar,&rdquo; a reference to the early days of the Biden administration, when the president tapped her to address the &ldquo;root causes&rdquo; of illegal immigration.<\/p>\n<p>But Republicans have not given up on trying to create an air of conspiracy around Biden&rsquo;s exit from the race. In the days after the debate, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) accused the White House of &ldquo;trying to hide the truth from the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He subpoenaed three Biden staffers while calling for a transcribed interview with the White House&rsquo;s physician.<\/p>\n<p>The resignation calls appear to be designed to keep the same pressure on the administration as Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19, remains out of public view 24 hours after his announcement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Expect to see nearly every House Republican demand Biden step down,&rdquo; a senior GOP aide told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>With three months until the election, the likelihood of Biden resigning from office is almost zero, while it would take a grave medical episode for Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>However, the continued focus allows the House to tap into grassroots discontent over what they perceive as Democratic attempts to hoodwink the public about Biden&rsquo;s mental state.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It plays to their base,&rdquo; said Maviglio.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans have tried to weave Biden&rsquo;s age into the broader critique of Harris on policy.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As second in command and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-are-calling-for-bidens-immediate-resignation-citing-his-historic-campaign-exit-as-evidence-that-he-is-unfit-to-serve\/\" title=\"Republicans are calling for Biden&#039;s immediate resignation, citing his historic campaign exit as evidence that he is unfit to serve\">completely inept border czar<\/a>, Harris has been a gleeful accomplice &mdash; not only in the destruction of American sovereignty, security, and prosperity but also in the largest political coverup in U.S. history,&rdquo; Johnson said in his statement. &ldquo;She has known for as long as anyone of his incapacity to serve.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But Feehery judged that Republicans would be well-served registering their complaints and moving on. Harris has liabilities apart from Biden, including her support for a bail fund that assisted protesters in the aftermath of George Floyd&rsquo;s murder.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think they should focus on Harris,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Define her early as someone who was very close to the BLM riots, who bailed out the BLM rioters, and who was supposed to fix the border, but she made the border worse.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Maviglio called the emphasis on Biden&rsquo;s age a sign of a &ldquo;flailing campaign that doesn&rsquo;t know how to focus now that the players have changed.&rdquo; Trump himself continues to harp on Biden on social media, taunting him Monday morning with claims he isn&rsquo;t aware he dropped out of the race.<\/p>\n<p>The Democrats, for their part, are likely to keep abortion access as the centerpiece of their election pitch, with Harris seen as someone who can make the case more forcefully than Biden.<\/p>\n<p>She embarked on a national &ldquo;reproductive freedoms&rdquo; tour in December and was the first vice president to visit a Planned Parenthood clinic in March.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, her career as a prosecutor and California&rsquo;s attorney general could allow them to draw a sharper contrast with Trump&rsquo;s recent hush money conviction.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s age could be additional fodder now that the race is no longer a 2020 rematch. But Feehery noted the argument did not help Harris in her 2020 primary against Biden as he defeated a slate of younger Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t work when they tried that against Biden when Kamala was running against Biden,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So, I find it hard to believe it&rsquo;ll work against Trump.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1709436\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1709436\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans continue to focus on Biden&#8217;s age even after he announced he would not run in 2024, while Democrats are now turning the same attacks on Trump. Democrats are rallying around Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seen as a younger and more energetic candidate compared to Trump. Some Democrats are also criticizing Trump for being &#8220;too old&#8221; for office, in a move to counter Republican attacks on Biden&#8217;s age. The focus on age and mental fitness in the upcoming election remains uncertain, but Republicans are now forced to shift their campaign strategy with Biden out of the race. Harris is now the main target for Republicans, who are trying to tie her to Biden&#8217;s policies and decisions. Despite efforts to create a conspiracy around Biden&#8217;s exit, it is unlikely that he will resign, and Harris invoking the 25th Amendment would require a serious medical issue. The continued emphasis on Biden&#8217;s age plays to the Republican base, but some strategists believe they should focus on Harris&#8217;s own vulnerabilities instead. Trump continues to attack Biden on social media, while Democrats are likely to focus on abortion access and reproductive rights as a key issue in the election, with Harris being a strong advocate for these issues. Trump&#8217;s age could also become a point of contention in the election, but it remains to be seen how effective this strategy will be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2305256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/joe-biden-drops-out-age-kamala-harris-1024x591.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[8808,3620,3685,3756],"class_list":["post-2305255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-age","tag-biden","tag-democrats","tag-republicans"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/joe-biden-drops-out-age-kamala-harris-1024x591.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2305255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2305255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2305255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2305256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2305255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2305255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2305255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}