Ex-Barack Obama aide questions Joe Biden's age. US president's curt reply

Joe Biden: Joe Biden's age is one of his key weaknesses, polling showed.

US president Joe Biden reportedly called one of Barack Obama’s closest advisers a “p---k” for suggesting that he is too old to run for re-election. Joe Biden, 80, is facing low polling numbers as critics say that he is too old to govern for another four years. A new poll of 15,000 Americans found that Joe Biden would lose in a head-to-head race with Donald Trump.

US president Joe Biden (Reuters)

The “MRP” poll, by Stack Data Strategy, found that the incumbent would win the popular vote by 49 per cent to 48 per cent, but lose to Donald Trump in the electoral college. Joe Biden's age is one of his key weaknesses, polling showed, as more than three quarters of US voters believe that he should withdraw from the race to make way for a younger candidate.

David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s chief election strategist when he was president, suggested that Joe Biden should reconsider his re-election campaign.

“Only Joe Biden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?," he said. In response, Joe Biden called him a “p---k”, according to a report published on the Politico.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s campaign team has repeatedly played down the seriousness of his position in the polls. This comes after a series of embarrassing gaffes, including his reference to the “nine wonders of the world” and his confusion of the so-called “black and tans”.

Nate Silver, the US polling analyst, said as per Telegraph, “If Biden’s mental/physical capacity is a real issue, enough to significantly curtail his campaigning activity, it’s incredibly foolhardy to think you can bluff your way through that for a year. He might win, because Trump is also unpopular, but a different Democrat would be a better bet.”