Biden, 80, confronts age issue: Seeking re-election as 'democracy is at stake'

US President Joe Biden has acknowledged concerns about his age but said he was running for re-election because democracy was still at stake.

“A lot of people seem focused on my age. Well I get it. Believe me, I know better than anyone," Biden, 80, told supporters on Monday evening.

“I’m running because democracy is at stake," Biden said. "And let there be no question, Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy. And I will always defend, protect and fight for our democracy.”

Biden defeated former President Donald Trump, a Republican who ran on a "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) slogan, in the 2020 election and may face him again next year; Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Concerns about Biden's age

The 80-year-old usually avoids the age issue but addressed it during a fundraiser at a Broadway theatre in New York, saying his experience helped him deal with crises like Ukraine and Covid.

Opinion polls show American voters have concerns about Biden's age ahead of a likely rematch next year against Trump, whom he beat in 2020.

Biden, who is attending the UN General Assembly in New York this week, would be 86 at the end of a second term and his Republican opponents relentlessly target the issue.

Trump - who is 77 and would be the oldest president ever elected if he wins next year - said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that Biden was "not too old" but was "incompetent".