Trump turns 78, a birthday he says he’d like to pretend ‘doesn’t exist’

CNN —

In a rare speechless moment Sunday, Donald Trump stepped back from the microphone as his Las Vegas supporters spontaneously broke into a disjointed rendition of the world’s most recognizable song.

“There’s a certain point at which you don’t want to hear ‘Happy Birthday,’” the former president said when they finished. “You just want to pretend the day doesn’t exist.”

The day does exist, and it’s today.

Trump is now 78 years old. It’s an age that has clearly occupied space in Trump’s mind for some time.

“Just remember what I’m telling you: 78 is not old,” Trump asserted to a New York Post gossip columnist almost two years ago. The offhand remark came during a conversation about his first wife, Ivana, upon the occasion of her passing at age 73.

The significance of 78 is unmistakable. It’s the same age his opponent, President Joe Biden, turned shortly after winning the election in 2020. Concerns about Biden’s fitness for office have followed him ever since, accentuated by a physical decline and diminished appearance that Trump’s allies and his campaign have gleefully amplified.

Yet, if Trump wins, he would be the oldest president at his swearing in at 78 years and 219 days, surpassing Biden’s previous record of 78 years and 61 days. (Biden, of course, would break his own record on inauguration day if reelected.) And amid his third White House bid – for which he has maintained a notably light travel schedule and has appeared tired at times during court appearances – Trump’s own mental acuity has faced intense scrutiny from political foes, including Biden.

“But let’s all remember Donald Trump is just a flatulent old man with an orange spray-tan who fell asleep at his own trial,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker