A group of Americans watching President Joe Biden are seeing something beyond the debate stumbles and media gaffes: They see themselves.
The debate over the 81-year-old Democrat’s fitness for another term is resonating especially among other older Americans who, like him, want to keep working.
“People told me I should retire, too,” said D’yan Forest, an 89-year-old New York comedian. “But you have to keep working, no matter what.”
Forest has occasionally stumbled over a joke and is finding it harder to memorize her lines. But she is busier than ever, engaging audiences and getting big laughs with her snarky jokes and the songs she plays on her ukulele. She doesn’t view Biden’s debate performance as a “blip,” and is upset that one night made people overlook all the benefits of age.
People age 75 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the U.S. workforce. According to the Census Bureau, one in five Americans age 65 and older is employed.
Many older adults are upset at seeing a peer ostracised because of their age and, like Forest, insist that it should be up to each person when they decide to leave the workplace.
“He has experience,” Forest said. “He has judgment. He has seen it all.”
Yet even among that growing population of older workers, some want Biden to give up.
“Forget it. The party’s over,” said Betty Ann Talomie, an 81-year-old from Seneca Falls, New York, who was born just weeks after the president. “Some people can’t quite wrap their heads around the fact that the time has come.”
Talomie worked her last shift as a waitress in January. She still appreciated the regulars, loved her coworkers and enjoyed having something to occupy the dull winter days. But she began to feel more tired toward the end of her shift and knew it was time.
“It’s like everything at this age: it costs twice as much to do anything,” says Talomie.
He plans to vote for Donald Trump, as he did in 2020, but says he, too, is ready for retirement.
“I think you should both sit on your deck chairs,” he says.
Biden insists he will not step aside. Trump, 78, has avoided similar questions about his age. If elected and serves a full term, he will eventually unseat Biden as the oldest president in U.S. history.
Eli Trujillo, an 87-year-old barber in Cheyenne, Wyoming, sees age taking its toll on Biden, but he knows he no longer cuts hair as quickly or works as many hours.
Who is he to judge the president’s decision?
“If you think you can still do it,” Trujillo says, “I don’t blame you.”
Older employees see rampant age discrimination in the workplace, and for those who remain on the job, being asked about their retirement plans is a constant aggravation.
“They look at me and say, ‘Why don’t you just retire? You can relax,’” says Paul Durietz, a 76-year-old teacher from Gurnee, Illinois. “I just like teaching,” he says.
Durietz, who teaches seventh-grade social studies, may come home a little more tired than before, but says working into later life is no longer a big deal.
Polls have shown that older Americans have a more favorable view of Biden than younger ones, and are less likely to say he should step down to make way for another candidate. But even among older people, Biden faces strong skepticism.
Six in 10 people 70 and older said they were in favor of Biden dropping out of the race in a poll released Wednesday by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Harriet Newman Cohen is one of them. Although she will vote for Biden if he stays, she finds his appearances painful to watch and fears he has completely lost his sense of self.
“What is happening now,” says the 91-year-old lawyer, “is giving a very bad image to old age.”
Cohen says she hasn’t lost her rhythm at all and that old age has given her “more wit, more vivacity, more energy.” While she bristles at the idea of anyone suggesting she retire from the job she loves, she believes the time has come for Biden to step aside.
“I’ve been very lucky,” Cohen says. “But the president hasn’t been so lucky.”
While many young people cannot imagine working longer than necessary, older workers often say they cannot imagine not working anymore.
While some people work into their 70s, 80s and beyond because the economy forces them to, many others do so out of preference. Surveys consistently show that job satisfaction increases with age, and for those who love their jobs, choosing to leave is a difficult decision.
Jim Oppegard, a 94-year-old school bus driver from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, is considering whether to return to work next month when the new school year starts.
He loves children and having extra money to donate, and he continues to take tests every year to make sure he is up to the job. Guinness World Records certified him this year as the world’s oldest bus driver, an honor that has him reflecting on his future.
You’ve thought about retiring before, but always backed out. This time could be different.
“There is something to be said for going out on a high note,” Oppegard says.
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