Bernie Sanders sticks up for fellow octogenarian Biden: ‘Seemed fine to me’

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 81, defended President Biden, 80, against voter critiques that he lacks the energy and vigor to continue leading the United States.

“I met with the president … five or six weeks ago, we had a great discussion. He seemed fine to me,” Sanders, an independent, told NBC News’ Chuck Todd on “Meet The Press” Sunday morning.

Todd had asked the self-described democratic socialist if he had advice for the president on “how he should assuage those concerns [to] the public about his age.”

“One way that you make it clear that age isn’t a factor with you is you’re pretty energetic. We see you travel the country, you show up and do interviews. … It is clearly an issue for many voters when it comes to President Biden,” Todd said Sunday.

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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 81, defended President Biden, 80, against voter critiques that he lacks the energy and vigor to continue leading the United States. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / File)

Sanders responded that voters have to evaluate Biden on “a whole lot of factors.”

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“A candidate, whether it’s Joe Biden or Trump or Bernie Sanders, anybody else, you know, they have to evaluate a whole lot of factors,” Sanders said.

President Biden answers a question during a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the White House on June 8, 2023. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

“I think, at the end of the day, what we have got to ask ourselves is what do people stand for? Do you believe that women have a right to control their own bodies? Well, the president has been strong on that. Do you think that climate change is real or do you agree with the Republicans that it’s a nonissue?” he added.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a union workers strike against Kellogg Co. in Battle Creek, Michigan, on Dec. 17, 2021. (Elaine Cromie / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sanders ran for president in 2020 but has since thrown his support behind Biden, including for the 2024 election.

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“So, age is an issue, Chuck, but there are a lot of broader issues than just that,” he said.