Patrick Healy, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Adrian J. Rivera
Seniors play an outsize role in politics: On Jan. 20, 2025, Joe Biden will be 82 years old, and Donald Trump will be 78. More than half of current U.S. senators are 65 or older, and millions of seniors make their voices heard every election cycle. But despite these facts, we don’t hear enough directly from regular Americans 65 or older.
That’s why we invited 12 seniors, ages 71 to 88 and from several states, to tell us about what it’s like to be an older person in American society today. For an hour and a half, they discussed and argued about the promise of aging, the perils of ageism and their views on the direction of the country today (and whether it should be led by a man in his 80s or late 70s).
Though many of our participants pointed to their favorite decades in the past, there was also a general sense that the so-called golden years really are golden. “Freedom from worry, struggle — this is the best decade of my life,” said Eugene, 80, one of the participants. “People should look forward to the future,” said Francis, 83. “I’m just going to make memory after memory.”
The participants were split on how old is too old to run for and hold elected office. “I go for younger ones. Get those old ones out of there,” said Elizabeth, 82. “For me,” said Elaine, 83, “it depends on the person. It’s not the age. It’s where they come down on these issues.”
Asked whether politicians cared very much about the needs of Americans in their 70s and 80s, not a single participant thought politicians did. “They take one look at a senior and say, ‘He’s not producing a thing. He’s doing nothing good for the people.’ And it’s wrong. They just look at us like we’re numbers,” said Francis. “So they look at us as irrelevant, I guess is the word. That’s how I feel,” said Elaine. We hope this focus group — and your reading it — is a step toward combating that feeling of irrelevance.