As Americans watched President Joe Biden falter on the debate stage and stumble in prime time, they saw something else: themselves. The debate over the 81-year-old Democrat’s fitness for reelection resonated especially with other older Americans who, like him, hope to stay in the workforce.
“People tell me I should retire,” said D’yon Forest, 89, a New York comedian. “But I have to keep working.”
Forrest stumbled upon a joke but found it hard to remember the lines. But she was busier than ever, engaging the crowd with off-color jokes and ukulele-playing songs to make them laugh. She dismissed Biden’s debate performance as a “blip,” angry that one night of debate led people to ignore the benefits of seniority.
People 75 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the U.S. workforce. All told, about one in five Americans 65 and older are currently working, according to the Census Bureau.
Many older people are wary of seeing their peers being left aside because of their age, and, like Forest, insist that deciding when to leave the workplace should be up to each individual.
“He has experience,” she said. “He has judgment. He’s seen it all.”
Yet even among the growing group of older workers, some want Biden to give up his reelection bid.
“Forget it! The party is over!” said Betty Ann Talomie, 81, of Seneca Falls, New York, who was born a few weeks after President Biden. “Some people can’t face the reality that it’s time.”
Talome worked her last shift as a waitress in January. She still cherishes her regular customers, loves her coworkers, and enjoys having something to do on boring winter days. But at the end of her shift, she began to feel more tired and knew it was time to retire.
“It’s like anything at this age: It’s twice as hard to do anything,” Talomi said.
She plans to vote for Donald Trump, as she did in 2020, but said Trump should also be ready to retire.
“I think they both should just sit down on the recliners and rest,” she said.
Biden has insisted he will not drop out of the race. Trump, 78, has managed to escape similar questions about his age. If he is elected and serves a full term, he will eventually replace Biden as the oldest president in U.S. history.
Eli Trujillo, an 87-year-old barber in Cheyenne, Wyoming, believes age has taken its toll on Biden, but he also knows he can’t cut hair as quickly as he used to, nor can he do it for as long each day.
And who is he to judge when it comes to the president’s decisions?
“If he feels like he can still do it,” Trujillo said, “I wouldn’t discourage him from doing it.”
Older workers face severe age discrimination in the workplace, and for those still working, being asked about retirement plans is a constant aggravation.
“They look at me and say, ‘Why don’t you retire? You can relax,’ ” said Paul Durietz, 76, a teacher in Gurnee, Ill. “I just love teaching,” he told them.
Duritz, who teaches seventh-grade social studies, may come home a little more tired than before, but he said working into his later years isn’t a big deal.
Polls show older Americans are more likely than younger people to have a favorable view of Biden and less likely to say he should drop out and make way for another candidate. But even among seniors, Biden faces significant skepticism.
In a survey released Wednesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 60% of people over 70 favor Biden dropping out of the race.
Harriet Newman Cohen is one of them. Although she would vote for Biden if he stays in the race, she finds his appearance distressing and worries he has lost all sense of self.
“What’s happening right now,” the 91-year-old attorney said, “is hitting seniors so badly.”
Cohen said she has not slowed down at all and has found that entering old age has made her “sharper, smarter and more energetic.” Although she bristles at the idea of anyone suggesting she retire from the job she loves, she thinks the time has come for Biden to step down.
“I was very lucky,” Cohen said. “The president was not so lucky.”
While many young people can’t imagine working any longer than they have to, older workers often say they can’t imagine not working anymore.