Once upon a time, Joe Biden went after a political rival for being too old to take office.
Biden, now almost 20 years older than his then-opponent, is currently in the White House and has announced a bid for re-election.
His remarks took place in 1972, when the then-29-year-old local Delaware councilman was making a run for the U.S. Senate. During the campaign, Biden attacked then-incumbent Republican Sen. Cale Boggs for seeking office while being 63 years of age. At the time, the approach blasted Boggs over being a “Dear old dad,” according to the New York Post. Biden also reportedly boasted to other Democrats that his opponent had stressed to him the importance of youth being involved in politics.
RNC Research shared a CNN report on the matter to Twitter. During the segment, outlet editor Andrew Kaczynski noted that numerous newspaper ads from the campaign made efforts to highlight Bogg’s older age.
CNN: A main theme of Biden's 1972 campaign for U.S. Senate was his opponent, Republican Sen. Cale Boggs, was too old to serve.
"Boggs was 63 at the time…that's more than 20 years younger than Biden would be in his second term if he was re-elected." pic.twitter.com/CU7JogkOup
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 24, 2023
“One of the biggest differences between Cale Boggs and Joe Biden is the things they worry about,” a CNN report quoted from an older radio ad. “In Cale Boggs’ day when Stalin ruled, Americans had visions of the Russian soldiers in our streets. In Joe Biden’s day, Americans have visions of American criminals in our streets. Joe Biden, he understands what’s happening today.”
“To Cale Boggs an unfair tax was the 1948 poll tax. To Joe Biden an unfair tax is the 1972 income tax,” read another newspaper ad.
Biden indicated back then he was quite sure he would emerge victorious as he knew that “Cale doesn’t want to run.”
“He’s lost that old twinkle in his eye he used to have,” Biden said, per a Delaware Evening Journal report in the 1970s.
After Biden ultimately won that race, an Associated Press article wrote, “Biden stressed age to defeat Boggs.”
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Norm Lockman reportedly commentated on Biden’s campaign for Senate way back when, writing, “The new campaign strategy, ordered by Biden himself, eases off the strident tub-thumping and finger pointing and uses an approach that says, in effect, “Dear old dad may have been right for his time – and I love him – but things are different now.’”
One might argue those words have not aged well given that Boggs was 23 years younger than Biden will be should he secure the White House for a second term.
