Diplomats and international relations experts praised President Joe Biden, the oldest president in American history at 80-years-old, for his “grandfatherly appeal” to world leaders in a CBS News article on Tuesday.
“President Biden is the old, great trans-Atlanticist,” European fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Liana Fix, said.
Fix also lauded Biden for his support of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “You really saw that Biden was putting his arm around Zelenskyy, encouraging him to continue to lead as if suggesting, ‘I got your back,’” Fix said. “It’s a grandfatherly appeal, and the warmth and wisdom from his age seems to transfer.”
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CBS News argued that Biden has foreign policy experience that has been “[h]oned over decades in the Senate and eight years as vice president.” Those years give Biden a “personal appeal” that CBS claimed has become “one of his strongest assets on the world stage, allowing him to smooth ruffled feathers and lead a coalition of allies that has managed to remain remarkably united in its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
The CBS story comes during another difficult era of media coverage for Biden and his family. Axios recently reported that the president fumes and curses at his staff in private, with aides even meeting with him in groups of two or more to defuse potential tension.
Some of the president’s go-to attacks include, “How the f— don’t you know this?” and “Don’t f—ing bulls— me!”
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A New York Times columnist also rebuked Biden’s “cold” heart for denying the existence of his granddaughter, Navy Joan Roberts, to the press. Hunter Biden sired Navy Joan Roberts, Biden’s seventh granddaughter, out of wedlock.
CBS News pointed out that many Americans are “skeptical” that the 80-year-old president “has what it takes to serve another term.” If Biden wins reelection in 2024, he will be 86-years-old at the end of his presidency in Jan. 2029.
One European diplomat told CBS News anonymously that the president’s age is noticeable, but impressive. “We see that he is managing the effort of being 80 years old versus 30, but we tend to be more impressed than anything.”
Biden has sometimes joked about his age, recently telling diplomats at the White House that while he may look young, he benefits from the wisdom of advanced age, according to the article. “I know I look like I am still only 29, but I’ve been around a long time,” Biden said. “As one of my friends said, try to connect age and wisdom.”
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
