Although it is the first time in the history of the United States that a sitting president reaches his eightieth year, Joe Biden, whose age raises controversy, especially as he is considering running for a new term, did not surround this occasion Sunday with any festive atmosphere.
It took until Sunday afternoon for his wife, Jill Biden, to post on Twitter an emotional message with two pictures of them dancing together, reports a local Arabic daily quoting AFP.
“I don’t want to dance with anyone else,” the first lady wrote in her tweet. Happy birthday Joe! I love you”.
Other than this tweet, the White House has not issued any statement or publication regarding the president’s birthday. It was not clear how Biden would celebrate his birthday, or if he would do so at all.
But Biden celebrated Saturday at the White House the wedding of his granddaughter Naomi, in a ceremony that the press was not allowed to attend.
Biden reaching the age of eighty does not seem uncommon among a political class in which young faces are so rare that many call it the power of the elderly.
For example, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is 82 years old, while the Republican minority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, is only two years younger than her, while the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, will soon celebrate his 72nd birthday.
The skinny president, who does not smoke or drink, is still physically active and has not faced any major health problems since he underwent surgery after suffering a life-threatening cerebral aneurysm in 1988.
A year ago, after an extensive medical examination, doctors said Biden had a few minor ailments and concluded that he was “capable of carrying out his duties.”
Read Today's News TODAY... on our Telegram Channel click here to join and receive all the latest updates t.me/thetimeskuwait
