“We know there's a three-and-a-half year age difference between the two candidates, but one candidate seems to be a little more determined, and that would be a concern,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat. Stated.
Part of that is due to fundamental physical differences.
Mr. Biden's voice became softer and harsher, his hair thinner and whiter. Although he is tall and lean, he moves more hesitantly and often stiffens his upper body than he did as a candidate in 2019 and 2020, giving him a frail appearance. And he has had incidents that have attracted public attention, such as falling off his bike and tripping over sandbags.
Trump, by contrast, doesn't seem to be affected by time in any such visible way. Trump often dyes his hair, giving him the appearance of being unnaturally tanned. He is stocky and tall and uses his athleticism to project strength in front of crowds. When he takes to the stage at a rally, he shows off his stamina by dancing to the opening song and soaking in the praise for a few minutes, before continuing with a speech that typically lasts well over an hour with macho rhetoric and bombastic speeches.
“It's all about how you perceive how you communicate,” said Carol Kinsey Gorman, a leadership presence speaker and coach. “When President Trump makes a gaffe like that, people just shrug it off and don't say, 'Oh, he's old.' He's made at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden. But he does it with such bravado that I don't think it's stupid. It's like passion.”
Mr. Gorman said Mr. Biden “looks like weakness.”
It is difficult to compare the health status of the two people beyond public perception. Democrats and some Republicans said Biden remains sharp in private conversations. Biden and Trump have each released limited medical information. Almost a year ago, the White House released a letter from Biden's longtime doctor saying that a medical examination found him to be a “healthy and energetic 80-year-old man.” The White House has not disclosed the names of the doctors in charge to reporters. Trump released a vague health report in November that described his condition as “excellent.”
