Joe Biden’s Age: He Would Be the Oldest President

Joe Biden is expected to throw his hat into the 2020 presidential contest, and his age would set records.

How old is Joe Biden? He was born on November 20, 1942. That makes him 76-years-old in April 2019. It also means that he would be 78-years-old on inauguration day if he were to win the presidency in November 2020. He would be 82 if he sought re-election.

According to Forbes, Biden would be significantly above the average age for a president, which is just over 55.

Would that make him the oldest president ever, though? Here’s what you need to know:

Biden Would Be the Oldest President at the Time of Inauguration – By Far

GettyJoe Biden leads in a 2020 Democratic primary poll.

A lot has been made about President Donald Trump’s age, but he is younger than Joe Biden. In fact, if Joe Biden is elected president, he will take Trump’s place as the oldest president ever elected. According to Delaware Online, that’s caused some consternation on the left, and age is sure to become a question on the campaign trail, especially in the primary, where some (but not all) of the candidates are significantly younger.

If Biden wins the Democratic nomination, he might be teamed with a younger vice president to neutralize the age issue, according to Bloomberg.

Incidentally, another presidential contender, Sen. Bernie Sanders, is older than Biden. He was 77-years-old in spring 2019. Sanders was born on September 8, 1941. The Washington Post reported, though, that voters in a focus group didn’t seem concerned about either man’s age.

Here are the oldest presidents at the time of their inauguration, along with their ages at the time they took office:

1. President Donald Trump: Age 70
2. Ronald Reagan: Age 69
3. William H. Harrison: Age 68
4. James Buchanan: Age 65
5. George H.W. Bush: Age 64

Who were the youngest presidents at the time of their inauguration? They were:

1. Theodore Roosevelt: Age 42
2. John F. Kennedy: Age 43
3. Bill Clinton: Age 46 years, 5 months
4. Ulysses S. Grant: Age 46 years, 10 months
5. Barack Obama: Age 47 years, 5 months

Three living presidents were born in the same year. Former President Bill Clinton was born on August 19, 1946. Trump was born the same year on June 14. George W. Bush was born July 6, 1946.

Jimmy Carter Is the Oldest President in U.S. History

GettyGeorge H.W. Bush’s cause of death was not released but he had serious health issues in recent years.

Of course, you can look at the age question two ways: Who was the oldest president at the time of taking office, and who was the oldest living president – ever – former or current.

George H.W. Bush, when he died on November 30, 2018, was 94-years-old. That put him into the record books when it comes to the oldest president in U.S. history, but it was for long.

Bush held two distinctions at the time he died; he was the United States’ oldest living president, but he was also the oldest president in the history of the United States. He officially set the record as the nation’s oldest living president ever when he reached 93 years and 166 days.

However, George H.W. Bush did not hold that record for long. That’s because Jimmy Carter, who is still alive, is also 94-years-old. Carter was born a couple months after Bush. On March 22, 2019, he also became the nation’s longest living president – ever.

Here’s a list of the oldest presidents in the history of the United States:

1. Jimmy Carter: Age 94 (born October 1, 1924)
2. George H.W. Bush: Age 94 (born June 12, 1924)
3. Gerald Ford: Age 93 years, 165 days
4. Ronald Reagan: Age 93 years, 120 days
5. John Adams: 90 years, 247 days

One other U.S. president lived past age 90: Herbert Hoover; 90 years, 71 days.

There are now five living presidents: Trump; George W. Bush; Clinton; Barack Obama; and Jimmy Carter. Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961.