This President Was Almost an Octogenarian When He Took Office

The 2024 presidential election is looming, with Vice President Kamala Harris facing off against former president Donald Trump. However, argues Matt Bai in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, it’s neither Harris nor Trump that is the most influential character in this race, but Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance. Trump is older in age, and will be 78 years old by the time the election occurs. Says Bai, this presents the possibility that Trump will eventually have to leave the presidency due to health issues. As such, we should consider what might happen if that occurred, and the fact that Vance would inevitably take over the Oval Office. He equates this to a similar situation between Eisenhower, who was seen as notably old at the time of his presidency, and Nixon; had Eisenhower passed away from a serious heart attack, the Nixon presidency would have been far sooner than it was. 

These conversations bring up an interesting point: how old is too old when it comes to the person who is leading our country? As our presidents seem to get older in age, the discussion about presidential age limits has significantly increased — as have questions about competency. Here, 24/7 Wall St. broke down the qualifications to be president of the United States, the pros and cons of instituting an age limit, and how old each U.S. president was at the time of inauguration. We’ve consulted sources such as WhiteHouse.gov, the American Presidency Project, and Britannica to assemble comparative data on each President. They are arranged from youngest to oldest based on their age at inauguration. (These are the least 15 popular U.S. presidents with millennials, ranked.)

Why This is Important to Talk About 

As the political drama in our country comes to a head, it’s worth looking at the historical context to understand how old our previous presidents were when they took office and what they achieved despite, or perhaps thanks to, their age and experience. This illustrates that age is not necessarily a factor in a President being able to make positive contributions to the country. However, you will also note that the trend toward electing elderly people to the highest office in the land has become stronger in modern times. It’s worth considering why this is the case and what, if anything, should be done about it. 

Presidential Qualifications

So what does it take to be President of the United States? First, it’s important to note that there’s no maximum age limit for presidential candidates — though there are minimum age limits. The Constitution posits that presidents must be:

• At least 35 years old
• A natural-born citizen
• Someone who has lived in the U.S. for 14 years (minimum)

What is a natural born citizen? It is someone who was born a citizen and did not have to go through a legal process to become an American. So if someone was born overseas, but to American parents, they could be eligible to run for President. 

Could We Add an Age Limit to the Constitution? 

Requiring an upward age limit for Presidential candidates would involve changing the Constitution, a process the Founding Fathers intentionally made quite difficult. Their goal was that any constitutional changes would reflect a national consensus about certain issues. 

To propose an Amendment, either two-thirds of both houses of Congress (67 of 100 Senators and 290 out of 435 Representatives) have to approve it, or two-thirds of the states (34 states) can call for a constitutional convention. Once the Amendment passes one of those hurdles, it must be ratified by 75% of the country’s state legislatures (38 states). It’s such a strenuous process to reach this level of consensus that the Constitution has only been amended 27 times in the country’s 237-year history. As such, we’d say that the possibility of a constitutional amendment here may not be in the books. 

Are Presidential Age Limits Likely to Happen?

American culture has a noticeable bias toward youth. We tend to think of older age as a liability rather than an asset. There are arguments to be made on both sides, and we’ll give a few examples below. But the main reason a presidential age limit is unlikely to be approved is that Senators, Representatives, and members of state legislatures often have their own presidential ambitions. As many of them are also elderly, they would be at a disadvantage if age limits were set — which means that their support for this matter probably isn’t that strong..

As a general rule, it’s hard to get lawmakers to vote to restrict their own power. However, in a scenario where public backlash against aged candidates votes them out of office and creates a supermajority of younger legislators with a mandate for change, then Presidential and even Congressional age limits might be on the table. 

Pros: Presidential Age Limit

• Inspiration: A younger President can have a more youthful energy and may cast bold visions that capture the public imagination. They can also connect with younger generations and get them more involved politically — after all, our youth are our future. 
• Energy: Presidency is a demanding job. Everyone who has served in this role leaves office having visibly aged. Presidents have a demanding travel and meeting schedule and need to remain alert and focused, while at the same time keeping their eye on a multitude of issues. A younger person may be able to sustain this level of intensity longer, physically and mentally.
• Reform: A younger President may be less entrenched in the political machine and better able to bring in fresh, forward-thinking ideas. 
• Legacy: Some former Presidents have gone on to make great contributions as peace negotiators, social activists, lecturers, and advisors. A younger President will have a longer post-presidency period to continue serving and influencing our public in strategic ways. 

Cons: Presidential Age Limit

• Experience: Putting younger people in charge means they simply don’t have as many decades of experience in politics. They may be idealistic in a way that is not practical or achievable. An older person knows how the game works and has accumulated a network of connections to get things done. 
• Continuity: Having older generations in charge bridges the gap between the country’s past and future. An older person may have a greater appreciation for how some of our traditions and institutions have served the nation well in the past and should not be lightly brushed aside. 
• Trust: An older person can at times inspire more trust in their competence than someone younger. Obviously, there are limits, and we are certainly nearing them in 2024. But in general, you don’t want a financial advisor, a doctor, or a President who looks like they arrived to work on a skateboard, right?
• Medical Technology: People did not live as long in the past as they do today, thanks to improvements in nutrition and medical technology. Research into cognitive-enhancing drugs is rapidly progressing. A hard cut-off date in the Constitution would be short-sighted if future Americans live much longer, healthier, and mentally sharper lives well beyond their 80s and 90s. Thus, the real issue may not be age as much as ability. 

Here are the ages of all 46 U.S. presidents at inauguration and what they accomplished in office: 

46. Theodore Roosevelt

• Age at inauguration: 42 years, 322 days
• Presidency #: 26th (1901-1909)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Broke up unfair business monopolies, passed food and drug safety regulations, and established the U.S. Forest Service and national parks. 

45. John F. Kennedy

• Age at inauguration: 43 years, 236 days
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Presidency #: 35th (1961-1963)
• Notable achievements: Initiated space race and planning for the moon landing and managed the Cuban Missile Crisis.

44. Bill Clinton

• Age at inauguration: 46 years, 154 days
• Presidency #: 42nd (1993-2001)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Reduced national debt by $363 billion, intervened militarily in the Bosnia war, and ended it with the Dayton Peace Accords.

43. Ulysses S. Grant

• Age at inauguration: 46 years, 311 days
• Presidency #: 18th (1869-1877)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Presided over post-Civil War Reconstruction; appointed African Americans and Jewish Americans to federal offices.

43. Barack Obama

• Age at inauguration: 47 years, 169 days
• Presidency #: 44th (2009-2017)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Expanded access to medical insurance and Wall Street financial practices and authorized counterterrorism actions that killed 9/11 terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

41. Grover Cleveland

• Age at inauguration: 47 years, 351 days
• Presidency #: 22nd (1885-1889)
• Political Party: National Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Fought political corruption and wasteful spending and opposed imperialism and the questionable annexation of Hawaii.

40. Franklin Pierce

• Age at inauguration: 48 years, 101 days
• Presidency #: 14th (1853-1857)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Completed the Gadsden Purchase of land from Mexico and tried unsuccessfully to acquire Cuba from Spain. 

39. James A. Garfield

• Age at inauguration: 49 years, 105 days
• Presidency #: 20th (1881)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Purged corruption in the Post Office, reformed the Civil Service, and promoted civil rights for African Americans.

38. James K. Polk

 

• Age at inauguration: 49 years, 123 days
• Presidency #: 11th (1845-1849)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Expanded the country into the Southwest in the Mexican War and the Northwest through negotiation with Great Britain; opened the U.S. Naval Academy and Smithsonian Institution.

37. Millard Fillmore

• Age at inauguration: 50 years, 183 days
• Presidency #: 13th (1850-1853)
• Political Party: Whig Party
• Notable achievements: Temporarily settled the issue of the expansion of slavery in the West, opened Japan to trade, and blocked the French from annexing Hawaii.

36. John Tyler

• Age at inauguration: 51 years, 6 days
• Presidency #: 10th (1841-1845)
• Political Party: Whig Party
• Notable achievements: Signed a bill offering statehood to Texas and settled the border between Maine and Canada.

35. Calvin Coolidge

• Age at inauguration: 51 years, 29 days
• Presidency #: 30th (1923-1929)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Cut taxes, protected American businesses, and shrank the national debt by 25%.

34. Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Age at inauguration: 51 years, 33 days
• Presidency #: 32nd (1933-1945)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Established New Deal programs to help Americans during the Great Depression and led the country through most of World War II. He served 4 terms before term limits were established.

33. William H. Taft

• Age at inauguration: 51 years, 170 days
• Presidency #: 27th (1909-1913)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Shifted the country’s focus to East Asia and Latin America and tried to reduce trade tariffs.

32. Chester A. Arthur

• Age at inauguration: 51 years, 349 days
• Presidency #: 21st (1881-1885)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Strengthened and expanded the U.S. Navy, tried to reduce trade tariffs, and reformed the civil service.

31. Abraham Lincoln

• Age at inauguration: 52 years, 20 days
• Presidency #: 16th (1861-1865)
• Political Party: National Union Party
• Notable achievements: Led the Union to victory in the Civil War and ended the practice of slavery. As a result, there are more statues of Lincoln than of any other person in the United States.

30. Jimmy Carter

• Age at inauguration: 52 years, 111 days
• Presidency #: 39th (1977-1981)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Negotiated a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, managed the Iranian hostage crisis, and created the Department of Education. 

29. William McKinley

• Age at inauguration: 54 years, 34 days
• Presidency #: 25th (1897-1901)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Led the U.S. to victory in the Spanish-American War and added Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines as new territories.

28. Martin Van Buren

• Age at inauguration: 54 years, 89 days
• Presidency #: 8th (1837-1841)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Took strong anti-slavery stances.

27. Rutherford B. Hayes

• Age at inauguration: 54 years, 151 days
• Presidency #: 19th (1877-1881)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Used the military to end a railroad strike, reformed the civil service, and kept a pledge to serve only one term.

26. George W. Bush

• Age at inauguration: 54 years, 198 days
• Presidency #: 43rd (2001-2009)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Led the response to 9-11, launched anti-terror wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

25. Herbert Hoover

• Age at inauguration: 54 years, 206 days
• Presidency #: 31st (1929-1933)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: As the President at the beginning of the Great Depression, he attempted a laissez-faire approach to stopping it.

24. Lyndon B. Johnson

• Age at inauguration: 55 years, 87 days
• Presidency #: 36th (1963-1969)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Civil Rights legislation, “Great Society” social programs, President during most of the Vietnam War.

23. Warren G. Harding

• Age at inauguration: 55 years, 122 days
• Presidency #: 29th (1921-1923)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Negotiated limits on naval power with other countries; returned the country to normalcy after World War I and released political prisoners.

22. Benjamin Harrison 

• Age at inauguration: 55 years, 196 days
• Presidency #: 23rd (1889-1893)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Implemented protective trade tariffs, created national forest reserves, admitted 6 Western states to the Union, strengthened the U.S. Navy, and tried to protect voting rights for African Americans.

21. Grover Cleveland

• Age at inauguration: 55 years, 351 days
• Presidency #: 24th (1885-1889)
• Political Party: National Democratic Party 
• Notable achievements: The only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. Fought corruption, opposed imperialism and the annexation of Hawaii.

20. Richard M. Nixon

• Age at inauguration: 56 years, 11 days
• Presidency #: 37th (1969-1974)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Intensified the Vietnam War before ending it and reopened relations with China.

19. Woodrow Wilson

• Age at inauguration: 56 years, 66 days
• Presidency #: 28th (1913-1921)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Presided over U.S. involvement in World War I and the postwar settlement that redrew the map of Europe.

18. Andrew Johnson

• Age at inauguration: 56 years, 107 days
• Presidency #: 17th (1865-1869)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Became president after the assassination of Lincoln; favored the rapid restoration of conquered Southern states to the Union.

17. George Washington

• Age at inauguration: 57 years, 68 days
• Presidency #: 1st (1789-1797)
• Political Party: None.
• Notable achievements: Celebrated Revolutionary War general; first U.S. President; voluntarily chose to retire after two terms although not constitutionally required to do so at the time. 

16. John Quincy Adams

• Age at inauguration: 57 years, 236 days
• Presidency #: 6th (1825-1829)
• Political Party: Democratic-Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Had an ambitious agenda for infrastructure projects and diplomatic relations; opposed slavery and supported the rights of women and Native Americans.

15. Thomas Jefferson 

• Age at inauguration: 57 years, 325 days
• Presidency #: 3rd (1801-1809)
• Political Party: Democratic-Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Completed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the country; sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition through the Pacific Northwest.

14. James Madison

• Age at inauguration: 57 years, 353 days
• Presidency #: 4th (1809-1817)
• Political Party: Democratic-Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Led the country during the War of 1812; and created the Second Bank of the United States.

13. James Monroe

• Age at inauguration: 58 years, 310 days
• Presidency #: 5th (1817-1825)
• Political Party: Democratic-Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Issued the Monroe Doctrine, proclaiming the Americas were off-limits to new European colonization.

12. Harry S. Truman

• Age at inauguration: 60 years, 339 days
• Presidency #: 33rd (1945-1953)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Used atomic bombs to end World War II,  organized the postwar recovery, and led the U.S. during the Korean War and the start of the Cold War. 

11. Gerald R. Ford

• Age at inauguration: 61 years, 26 days
• Presidency #: 38th (1974-1977)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Assumed presidency after Nixon’s impeachment and worked to restore national trust and unity.

10. John Adams

• Age at inauguration: 61 years, 125 days
• Presidency #: 2nd (1797-1801)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: The second U.S. President and the first to live in the White House. He kept the U.S. neutral during the French Revolution. 

9. Andrew Jackson 

• Age at inauguration: 61 years, 354 days
• Presidency #: 7th (1829-1837)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Reputed as an advocate for ordinary Americans; tried to preserve the Union in the decades before the Civil War.

8. Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Age at inauguration: 62 years, 98 days
• Presidency #: 34th (1953-1961))
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Celebrated World War II general; started interstate highway program; ended the Korean War.

7. Zachary Taylor

• Age at inauguration: 64 years, 100 days
• Presidency #: 12th (1849-1850)
• Political Party: Whig Party
• Notable achievements: Priorized keeping the country united before the Civil War; got New Mexico and California to bypass the territorial stage and apply for statehood as free states.

6. George H. W. Bush

• Age at inauguration: 42 years, 222 days
• Presidency #: 41st (1989-1993)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Managed the U.S. response to the collapse of communism; coordinated NATO expansion into Eastern Europe;  invaded Panama.

5. James Buchanan

• Age at inauguration: 65 years, 315 days
• Presidency #: 15th (1857-1861)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: The last president before the Civil War. He kept a pledge to serve only one term and tried to minimize the role of the Federal government. 

4. William Henry Harrison

• Age at inauguration: 68 years, 23 days
• Presidency #: 9th (March 4- April 4, 1841)
• Political Party: Whig Party
• Notable achievements: President for only 1 month before dying in office. This led to clarification of the rules for presidential succession. 

3. Ronald Reagan

• Age at inauguration: 69 years, 348 days
• Presidency #: 40th (1981-89)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Increased military spending, invaded Grenada, negotiated arms control treaties with the USSR, and presided over a prosperous economy.

2. Donald J. Trump

• Age at inauguration: 70 years, 220 days
• Presidency #: 45th (2017-2021)
• Political Party: Republican Party
• Notable achievements: Initiated a program to rapidly develop the COVID-19 vaccine. He appointed 3 Supreme Court justices and reduced many federal regulations.

1. Joe Biden 

• Age at inauguration: 78 years, 61 days
• Presidency #: 46th (2021-2024)
• Political Party: Democratic Party
• Notable achievements: Led COVID-19 national recovery and the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

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