Donald Trump Called 'Too Old' by Conservative Magazine

The National Review, a prominent conservative magazine, has recently labeled Donald Trump as "too old" and suggested that he may be on track to lose the 2024 presidential election. In a recent edition of the National Review's Morning Jolt newsletter, senior political correspondent Jim Geraghty criticized Trump for his controversial comments regarding Vice President Kamala Harris' ethnicity.

During an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Wednesday, Trump made remarks suggesting that Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, "happened to turn Black" over the years for political advantage. Geraghty, who also contributes to The Washington Post, indicated that these comments might harm Trump’s chances in November, while also pointing out concerns about the former president’s age.

At 78, Trump is the oldest presidential candidate in U.S. history, a distinction he achieved after 81-year-old President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign. Should Trump win the November election, he would become the oldest sitting president ever, surpassing Biden.

Geraghty criticized Trump’s campaign, arguing, "The Republican nominee is too dumb, too old, too racially obsessed, too erratic, and idiosyncratic in his interests and impulses." He added that Trump is likely to mishandle the presidential race against a vice president who has faced criticism for her border policies, shifting stances on various issues, high inflation, and international instability.

Geraghty also took issue with Trump’s approach towards Harris, stating that Trump's attempt to question her racial identity before an African-American audience is misguided. Trump’s comments were made in response to a question about whether he believes Harris is included on the Democratic ticket solely for diversity reasons. Trump remarked, "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she became a Black person."

Geraghty pointed out that Harris has consistently embraced both her Indian and Black heritage throughout her life, including her decision to attend Howard University, a historically Black institution in Washington, D.C. He questioned whether Trump’s argument would resonate with voters, suggesting that it was "tone-deaf, racially obsessed, and presumptuous," similar to Biden's infamous comment to African American voters that they "ain't Black" if undecided between him and Trump.

"Biden apologized for his remark; Trump probably never will," Geraghty said. "We can debate whether 'authentically Black' is a legitimate concept or merely political stereotyping, but if it is a real idea, it’s not for old white men to define."

Trump’s office has been approached for comment regarding these issues.

In response, Harris dismissed Trump’s remarks as “the same old show” from the former president. She emphasized that the American people deserve better than Trump's divisive and disrespectful rhetoric.

In her 2019 autobiography, The Truths We Hold, Harris described how her mother raised her and her sister as Black in California, understanding that this would be their identity in society. Harris wrote, “My mother understood very well that she was raising two Black daughters. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women.”