Biden tries out a new line of attack on Trump: The former president’s age

Washington CNN —

President Joe Biden on Monday pointedly explored a new line of attack against his once-and-likely-future opponent Donald Trump, mocking Trump’s age as Biden tries to turn the tables on one of his greatest political liabilities.

Firing back against critics who say his own age is a liability in the upcoming election, 81-year-old Biden told Seth Meyers, “You got to take a look at the other guy,” referring to the 77-year-old Trump.

“He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name,” he joked, in an apparent reference to an episode over the weekend where the former president mistakenly called his wife Melania “Mercedes” during remarks at CPAC.

During the interview on NBC’s “Late Night,” Biden said voters should not just consider how old a candidate is, but “how old (their) ideas are.”

“Look, I mean, this is a guy who wants to take us back,” Biden said of Trump. “He wants to take us back on Roe v. Wade, he wants to take us back on a whole range of issues that are – 50, 60 years, they’ve been solid American positions.”

The pre-taped interview with Meyers took place shortly after the White House announced Biden would be visiting the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday – the same day Trump plans to head to Eagle Pass, Texas, about 300 miles away and the epicenter of a recent clash between the state and federal governments over border crossings.

Biden’s comments about Trump’s age could mark a notable shift in the president’s messaging strategy, coming just days after Trump won the South Carolina Republican primaries in another step toward grabbing his party’s presidential nomination. The two men have not often attacked each other over their age and Trump has previously said he doesn’t