The former South Carolina Democrat, who donated thousands of dollars to President Biden’s reelection campaign, warned about Biden’s age while supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign in 2019.
“Joe Biden was running for president before I was born” – Bakari Sellers Said Politico He served as a surrogate for the Harris campaign in 2019.
“Joe Biden is almost 80 years old and he’s running for president of the United States,” Sellers said. “My father is an HBCU president and he’s turning 75 this year and his doctors have told him he can’t do it anymore.”
Sellers, a CNN political analyst who served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, said his father, who served for seven years as president of Voorhees College, a historically black college in South Carolina, “no longer had the energy and the strength to lead that campus. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a great man, a great leader, a great visionary.”
“That’s a legitimate conversation,” he continued.
Pre-debate polls show Biden at a significant age disadvantage compared to Trump
CNN contributor Bakari Sellers warned about Biden’s age in 2019. (Getty Images)
Sellers also criticized presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during the 2019 Democratic presidential primary over the issue of age.
“The top three candidates are all older than Ronald Reagan was when he was president,” Sellers said. “Democrats are scared of criticism, which seems ridiculous to me, but we’re going to have a tough primary on the issues of vitality and fitness to be president.”
Axios reporter says White House ‘didn’t tell the truth’ about Biden’s age to media and him for years
President Joe Biden stands at the podium during the first presidential debate of the 2024 presidential election between himself and former President Donald Trump, Thursday, June 27, 2024, at CNN studios in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin D. Lyles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Sellers donated $10,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and $6,600 to Biden’s reelection campaign last year, reaching the contribution limits. Defending Biden Trump has pushed back against criticism about his age in recent weeks, saying this week it was “patently unreasonable” to discuss a Parkinson’s disease specialist visiting the White House.
On Thursday night, Sellers responded to Biden’s hour-long press conference, posting on X that Biden was “doing fine,” and reposting a post from NBC commentator Vin Gupta, who is also a physician, who defended Biden’s press conference.
“[Biden] Tonight he proved he continues to function at a high level given his age.” Gupta says“Indeed, he has been prone to making gaffes throughout his career, but he remained strong after a series of tough questions and showed his experience well. It was a strong performance.”
“Not only should Biden not run, he should resign, neither of which is going to happen,” Sellers said last week. “It’s emotionally charged to write a story about Biden’s age without mentioning the fact that he’s achieved bipartisanship, appointed a Black woman to the Supreme Court and led the post-COVID economy back to health, because he clearly can handle the job of president at this age.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on June 28, 2024. (Bizayev Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
One of Sellers’ most notable defenses of Biden came less than an hour after the CNN debate between Biden and former President Trump.
“Biden isn’t going anywhere. It’s June. Hand over your pearls and dry your bed. He lost the debate. Too bad. But it’s June. You’re not taking his place,” Sellers posted to X on June 27. “So leave the random pairings in the chat. You’re not going to nominate Gretsch or Gavin or Wes over Kamala. Stop it. Organize. Vote. We’re winning every battleground state senatorial race and gubernatorial race (North Carolina). Relax.”
“The choice is Trump, Biden or the couch. I choose Joe. Good night. Good night,” he continued.
Sellers did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
