83-year-old Darrell Ann Murphy, a lifelong Democrat and an ardent critic of former President Donald Trump, spends her days teaching Mahjong at the local library. Her classes serve a dual purpose: to foster a love for the game and to keep seniors mentally active. However, she has one golden rule: no discussions on religion or politics.
Despite her rule, Murphy is open about her political beliefs in her Easton home. Easton, a predominantly Democratic city, is situated in a politically diverse county within a battleground state. The political leanings of Northampton County, where Easton is located, have historically been a reliable indicator of presidential election outcomes. Trump narrowly won Northampton in 2016, contributing to his Electoral College victory, but Joe Biden turned the tables in 2020.
Murphy dismisses claims that Biden, at 81, is too old to serve as president, attributing such sentiments to partisan bias. However, she admits to being concerned about the county’s potential political shift in 2024.
As part of a CNN project tracking the 2024 campaign through the eyes of key voters, we visited Easton. Voters over 65 are the most reliable voting group, and their support can be decisive in battleground states like Pennsylvania.
During a Mahjong game at Murphy’s home, it became evident that even among older voters, opinions on the age of presidential candidates are divided. Some believe there should be an upper age limit for presidential candidates, while others, like Murphy, disagree.
One participant, Pamela Aita, argued that the person running the country should be capable of basic cognitive tasks, implying that Biden may not be up to the task. However, Catherine Long countered this argument by pointing out that former President Trump, at 77, also had his share of memory mix-ups.
Larry Malinconico, a 71-year-old geology professor at Lafayette College in Easton, believes the age debate is a distraction. He is a Biden supporter and thinks the president hasn’t received enough credit for his accomplishments. However, he acknowledges that some of his peers and students see Biden’s age as a disqualifying factor.
Malinconico believes that age isn’t necessarily a determining factor for competency. However, he admits that he would have preferred if Biden had decided to serve only one term, as he believes some people equate physical frailty with mental decline.
Meanwhile, 80-year-old Mickey Brown, a conservative and two-time Trump voter, expresses concerns about Biden’s fitness to serve based on his observations of the president’s mannerisms. However, Pat Levin, a 94-and-a-half-year-old Democrat, disagrees with Brown’s assessment, arguing that Trump, who is roughly the same age as Biden, makes similar errors.
Levin, who works out once a week at the SteelCore Studio in Bethlehem, believes that age should not be a determinant of competence. She argues that Biden should be judged by his performance, not his age.
With Election Day more than eight months away, these differing perspectives on age and competency highlight the complexities of the upcoming 2024 presidential race.