Stephen A. Smith sparked backlash online when he said “80+ years old is too old to be President.”
The ESPN sports analyst made the comment after Biden took a hard fall on stage at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado on June 1.
Smith posted a clip of his recent podcast on Twitter.com. He captioned the video:
“I’ll say it… and I know this will make some people mad… but I just think someone 80+ years old is too old to be President.
There has to be better options.”
Smith said in the video:
“Ladies and gentlemen, without trying to engage in any kind of ageism at all, because I don’t believe in it. There does come a point in time where there are certain jobs you don’t need. It’s not that you don’t need to be working, it’s not that you don’t need to be living your life, it’s not that you don’t need to be living a very vibrant lifestyle.”
He added:
“There are responsibilities that are far, far, far more extensive than a typical 9 to 5 that somebody in their eighties may not need to be doing. I think the presidency is one of em.”
I’ll say it…and I know this will make some people mad…but I just think someone 80+ years old is too old to be President.
There has to be better options pic.twitter.com/keewnqFYU0
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 2, 2023
The White House claimed the President “tripped over a sandbag” on the stage. Fortunately, he wasn’t injured.
Biden’s stumble was the 4th time he has fallen in public. The frail president has fallen more times than any of his predecessors combined.
Smith’s Twitter followers accused him of “ageism” and racism. They defended Biden by claiming everyone has fallen at some point.
Your comment is very agist and lacks nuance and understanding of how government works.
— Alexander Boyd (@iamjuneous) June 3, 2023
I'll admit: I'm not going to give you clicks but I bet you didn't offer any other options. Look, President Biden is about to hit your tax bracket and I certainly don't blame you for being anxious about that. But for the majority of us who aren't in that tax bracket, he is the man
— Mr. Regster26 (@thuddyt) June 3, 2023
The Democrats are reportedly “terrified” that Biden will fall and seriously injure himself on the campaign trail.
Question: Is 80 too old to be President?
Watch the video below.
U.S. President Biden trips and falls during Air Force Academy graduation ceremony visit, is helped up and walks away unassisted, per Bloomberg. pic.twitter.com/iV3ahFXdet
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) June 1, 2023
