Age has quickly become a key topic ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
While the age of the two leading candidates has been a trending topic, the item is gaining steam after the recent presidential debate.
What Happened: Over 47 million people watched the first 2024 presidential debate hosted by Warner Bros. Discovery WBD-owned CNN.
Former President Donald Trump was viewed as the winner in post-debate polls, while concerns over President Joe Biden's age and ability to do his job as president became key questions after the event.
Betting odds and prediction markets saw odds soar that Biden would drop out of the race and that someone else would win the Democratic nominee.
With the debate completed, Benzinga asked its social media followers if there should be an age limit on the president of the U.S.
"Should there be a maximum age for president?" Benzinga asked on X.
The results were:
Yes: 89.5%
No: 10.5%
The U.S. Constitution lists only three requirements to run for president in the country, and they have been the same requirements since George Washington was the first president.
"As directed by the Constitution, a presidential candidate must be a natural born citizen of the United States, a resident for 14 years, and 35 years of age or older," the Library of Congress said.
Currently, there is a minimum age to be the president, but no maximum age. The rules over being a natural-born citizen currently prevent former state governors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Granholm from running and also prevent Tesla CEO Elon Musk from running.
Why It's Important: Biden is currently the oldest serving president and is set to turn 82 years old in November. Trump is 77 and was also the second-oldest president when he left office in 2021 — trailing only President Ronald Reagan.
If Biden is re-elected, he would be 86 when he leaves office at the end of his second presidential term. With the age of Biden and Trump in focus, voters see the potential choice of a vice presidential as a bigger priority.
Both Trump and Biden have had gaffes of mixing up names and events during speeches, leading to some questioning both candidate's ages heading into the 2024 election.
There have been 45 different U.S. presidents. Of the 45, only eight have died in office, with four assassinated and four dying of natural causes.
A president has not died in office since John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. The last president to die in office from natural causes was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945.
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© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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