Former President Barack Obama joked on a podcast that aliens are real but said he has not seen them. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
There's been plenty of discontent this decade among younger Democrats with some of their party's aging politicians who have resisted bowing out and passing the torch.
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That sentiment was amplified by former President Joe Biden's decision to run for re-election in 2024 before dropping out of the race amid serious questions about the then-81-year-old president's physical and mental acuity after a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump.
Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, is facing a primary challenge from a much younger rival. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Waters, who has been in Congress since 1991, hasn't faced a serious primary challenge in over a decade in California's solidly-blue 43rd District, which is anchored in South Los Angeles.
Waters isn't the only long-serving House Democrat from California facing challenges from younger rivals. So are Democratic Reps. Brad Sherman and Mike Thompson.
In Massachusetts, 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton is spotlighting the generational argument as he tries to oust 79-year-old Sen. Ed Markey in the Democratic primary.
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, who is 32 years younger than the senator. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)
Former South Carolina governor and former ambassador Nikki Haley made plenty of headlines during her 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nomination when she proposed mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over age 75, which would have included the now 79-year-old Trump.
Trump ended up winning the 2024 election, defeating then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who was 18-years younger than her rival for the White House. And Trump's victory was fueled in part by a better-than-expected performance among younger voters.
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Obama said he's hoping to energize younger voters through his presidential center, which is scheduled to open later this year in Chicago.
"That spirit, that energy, it’s out there, and you can feel it, but it’s bottled up," he said. "We haven’t given enough outlets for young people to figure out, ‘How do I become a part of that?’ That’s this enormous, untapped power that we have to get back to."
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/at-some-point-you-age-out-obama-urges-democrats-pass-torch-younger-candidates