The 2024 election hasn’t even happened yet, and it’s already a disappointing race. Although President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump sit, unbudging, on opposite sides of the political spectrum, they have one thing in common: their old age. 

This upcoming election is the first my age group will be able to vote in, and the options aren’t looking promising. Neither Biden nor Trump have been 17 years old since the 1960s, making it nearly impossible for either to understand and prioritize the needs of younger generations. 

Issues like global warming, minimum-wage increases and free college tuition are at the forefront of our minds but are continuously put on the back burner for more “pressing” issues.

Even if today’s America isn’t quite perfect, it’s nowhere near the same as the one Biden and Trump grew up in. Our current elected officials are too old to accurately represent the ideals of the American people.

While I’ve grown up in an increasingly diversifying America, Trump grew up during a time when it was illegal for Black and White people to sit in the same room. Biden grew up when it was illegal for gay people to be in the military. In fact, during Biden’s first term as a senator, he voted for that same bill, deeming homosexuality “incompatible” with military life. 

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that personal growth is possible, and Biden has clearly withdrawn his prior support of homophobic legislation with the recent passage of the Equality Act. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s time to have people in power with a forward way of thinking.

During Trump’s presidency, he was over 70 years of age and made derogatory remarks towards women, African American, Jewish, Mexican, Hispanic and Indigenous American people. This boundless range of discrimination has stained Trump’s career for more than 40 years. These outdated world views are what leave Trump, and other older elected officials, incapable of representing today’s America. 

When asked why it’s become increasingly common for presidents to be above the age of 70, we sit behind our pocket-sized copies of the Constitution and cower at any sign of upheaval.

Back in 1787, when the Constitution was written, the average life expectancy was 40 years old, according to research from the University of Delaware. Having two forefront runners averaging an age of 80 was impossible to foresee, and the Founding Fathers did not see it necessary to write in a maximum age limit.

Yet politicians continue to cite the 200-year-old document as if it’s their lifeline and proudly exclaim that “what the Constitution says goes.” But if they’re so attached to it, maybe it’s finally worth citing section four of the 25th Amendment, which states that if the president is unable to carry out the duties and powers of the presidency, they are to be removed from their position. 

Quite frankly, this is an overly complicated solution. It would require the overturning of the Goldwater Rule, which states that external psychologists and neurological professionals cannot evaluate people in power.

According to the Pew Research Center, mental decline can begin as early as 65, but the only way we can differentiate mental health issues on a case-by-case basis is by regulating and standardizing cognitive testing. 

Much like the system used at the DMV, cognitive testing can transparently inform voters if elected officials show signs of dementia or other mental illnesses.  While some may argue that the premise of this argument is ageist, many public-serving careers already have maximum age limits. Airline pilots face mandatory retirement at age 65 and judges, in some states, face mandatory retirement at age 70.

This issue is more far-reaching than people realize. According to CBS, if we set a maximum age limit of 70 years, 71% of our current senators would be ineligible to serve. The most probable solution to this problem would be passing a constitutional amendment that enforces mandatory retirement at age 75 with mandatory cognitive testing starting ten years prior. 

If we don’t impose this now, the effects on American democracy could be perilous. So finally, I urge you to ask yourself: how old is too old?