Stephen Harper has been speaking to the press and weighing in on Trump's threats. Stephen Harper is now 65 years olde - he was Prime Minister from 2006 to 2015. So that means he was only 55 when he left office. Isn't that similar to Justin Trudeau who assumed office in 2015 and is leaving now at 53 years old? He was born on Christmas Day, 1971. And the next likely Prime Minister Pierre Poilievre is 45 years old. Then look to the South where Joe Biden is leaving office at 82 years old and Donald Trump is assuming the Presidency at 78 years. He's the oldest President-elect in history. But wait - he joins quite a large group of old-age rulers. Looking at the ages of world leaders, things are worrisome if you think 78 is old. Look at this list of the 10 oldest rulers listed in Wikipedia (here):
Paul Biya of Cameroon is almost 92 Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine is 89 Salman bin Adulaziz al Said of Saudi Arabia is 89 Pope Francis of the Vatican is 88 Harald V, King of Norway is 87 Ali Khamenei of Iran is 85 Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh is 84 Mishal of Kuwait is 84 Michael Higgins of Ireland is 83 Sergio Mattarella of Italy is 83
This is called a gerontocracy where the leader is significantly older than most of the adult population. In many political structures, power within the ruling class accumulates with age, making the oldest individuals the holders of the most power. And that's the case in the U.S. - it is money-intensive to get to the Presidency or even to Congress/Senate:
"Extreme age is not limited to the executive branch. Mitch McConnell is 82. Nancy Pelosi is 84. Chuck Grassley is 90. At least 20 members of Congress are over 80. The average ages in the US House and Senate are 58 and 64, respectively. Only 6% of Congress is under 40. Meanwhile, the median age in the US is 39. In terms of age, Congress does not represent the electorate."
What we wonder is whether a person that age can be healthy and fit for the job, and doubt they really represent the electorate's views and interests. As for Trump, that question comes second after the three mental disorders identified by top psychologist John D. Garntner who says Trump has - malignant narcissist personality disorder, hyper manic temperament, and dementia. He's not alone in this diagnosis.
What we do know is that the age of American presidents is getting older and older. The age gap between Trudeau and Biden was 29 years. If you go way back in the time machine, the difference in age between Diefenaker and Kennedy was nearer the reverse.
