Thirty-five is the minimum age requirement for the presidency, but there’s no upward limit. The two last presidential elections, which brought President Biden, now 81, and former President Donald Trump, now 78, to the White House, are proof of this political reality.
The Founding Fathers excluded a maximum age limit from Constitution, giving those in their golden years the ability to run for the highest office in the land.
According to Pew Research, 19 inaugurations have involved presidents in their 60s and just four have involved presidents in their 70s. The median age for U.S. presidents on their first day in office is 55. Vice President Kamala Harris turned 60 in October.
The 2024 election cycle again brought discussion about how old is too old for office, which accelerated after Mr. Biden’s on-air debate fumbles in June. The political firestorm led to his his decision to step aside as the Democratic nominee a few weeks later. Critics have also raised concern about Trump’s age and competency.
Here’s a look at the history of the oldest presidents — in the Oval Office and beyond:
Who were the oldest U.S. presidents at election and in office?
The two oldest presidents ever to be sworn in are Mr. Biden, who was 78 when he took office in 2021, and Trump, who was 70 on his Inauguration Day in 2017.
Now that Mr. Biden has officially left the 2024 race, Trump is the oldest candidate. If he is elected, he would eclipse Mr. Biden by a few months as the oldest president ever sworn in at his Inauguration n January, six months before his 79th birthday.
The third oldest president at his inauguration was Ronald Reagan, who was 69 when he was sworn in in 1981. “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” Reagan famously said in 1984 while running for reelection against Walter Mondale.
In fourth place is the nation’s ninth president, William Henry Harrison. Harrison was elected in 1841 at age 68, but his tenure as president was short-lived. He died 32 days into his first term, making his presidency the shortest in U.S. history.
Who are the oldest living U.S. presidents?
Jimmy Carter, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Oct. 1, is the oldest living former U.S. president in history. Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, served one term, from 1977 to 1981. He broke the longevity milestone in 2019, at 94 years old, surpassing George H.W. Bush to become the longest living president. More than 1,000 people recently paid tribute to the former president at a benefit concert ahead of his 100th birthday.
After he left office more than 40 years ago, Carter kept busy building more than 4,000 homes for Habitat for Humanity, traveled the world to promote human rights and won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The second oldest after Carter is Mr. Biden, who will turn 82 on Nov. 20, just weeks after the election. Three former presidents, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, all 78 years old, roughly tie for third.
Full list of U.S. presidents, from oldest to youngest at end of presidency
The list ranges from the current president, who will turn 82 in the weeks following this year’s election, down to John F. Kennedy, who was just 46 when he was assassinated.
- Joe Biden, turns 82 on Nov. 20, 2024
- Ronald Reagan, 77
- Donald Trump, 74
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 70
- Andrew Jackson, 69
- James Buchanan, 69
- William Henry Harrison, 68
- Harry S. Truman, 68
- George H. W. Bush, 68
- James Monroe, 66
- George Washington, 65
- John Adams, 65
- Thomas Jefferson, 65
- James Madison, 65
- Zachary Taylor, 65
- Woodrow Wilson, 64
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 63
- Gerald Ford, 63
- George W. Bush, 62
- John Quincy Adams, 61
- Richard Nixon, 61
- Andrew Johnson, 60
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 60
- Benjamin Harrison, 59
- Grover Cleveland, 59
- Martin Van Buren, 58
- Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 58
- William McKinley, 58
- Herbert Hoover, 58
- Warren G. Harding, 57
- Abraham Lincoln, 56
- Calvin Coolidge, 56
- Jimmy Carter, 56
- Chester A. Arthur, 55
- William Howard Taft, 55
- Barack Obama, 55
- John Tyler, 54
- Ulysses S. Grant, 54
- Bill Clinton, 54
- James Knox Polk, 53
- Millard Fillmore, 53
- Franklin Pierce, 52
- Grover Cleveland, 51
- Theodore Roosevelt, 50
- James A. Garfield, 49
- John F. Kennedy, 46
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