Biden celebrates 82nd birthday but won't be America's oldest President for long

The US President only has two months left in office before Donald Trump takes over

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One before leaving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP

Joe Biden, the oldest president in US history, celebrated his 82nd birthday with family at the White House on Wednesday. Mr Biden's age has been a persistent issue throughout his four-year presidency and led to him to abandon his bid for re-election in July.

But he won't hold the record of oldest American leader for long. Donald Trump, who is 78, will become the oldest president inaugurated when he is sworn into office on January 20. He will be about five months older than Mr Biden was when he was inaugurated in 2021.

Mr Biden, born in 1942 during the Second World War, frequently jokes about his age and last year posted a picture on social media of his birthday cake, which appeared to be ablaze under dozens of candles.

“Thanks for the birthday well-wishes today, everyone. Turns out on your 146th birthday, you run out of space for candles,” he wrote in the caption.

Mr Biden returned to the White House late on Tuesday after a six-day trip to Brazil and Peru, attending what are likely to be his last summits as President. On Wednesday, he had no public events on his schedule and a White House official told The National that he would be celebrating his birthday with his family.

During the Latin America trip for the G20 summit, Mr Biden frustrated members of the press travelling with him by not holding any briefings or taking any of their questions. A video circulating on social media showed the President boarding Air Force One while a producer begged him to take questions.

“Mr President, happy early birthday. For your birthday, will you talk to us, sir? As a gift to the press, will you please talk to us? Mr President, President Biden, please, we haven't heard from you all trip.”

Mr Biden announced he would not be running for re-election in July, after a disastrous debate performance against Mr Trump in which he struggled to speak coherently or follow a train of thought.

With two months left, Mr Biden's White House has pledged to conduct an “orderly and peaceful” transition of power, something that did not happen when he took over from Mr Trump, who refused to admit he lost the 2020 election.

The second-oldest US president was Ronald Reagan, who was 77 when he left office in 1989.