In a perfect world, our elected officials would typically make us feel more confident about the future. On paper, their whole job is to serve us and create a better country for all citizens. There’s no shortage, fortunately, of good, hardworking politicians who provide us with hope and inspiration. Unfortunately, there’s also a growing number of politicians who fill us with absolute dread when we ponder the coming days.
Why is that? Most of our politicians are very old, and some are so incredibly elderly that we can’t help but worry about their mental health. And, frankly, even the ones who seem to be of sound mind (albeit old body) often have so many shady qualities that make us wonder if they’re more focused on the nation’s best interests or simply their own.
Don’t know what we’re talking about? Or maybe you agree and are just getting ready for us to name names? Keep reading to discover the career politicians who are making us nervous going into 2025!
Joe Biden
You just knew Joe Biden was going to make this list, right? For one thing, we are curious how this career politician will handle what is basically forced retirement. He was elected to the Senate way back in 1972, eventually becoming Barack Obama’s Vice President before getting elected President himself in 2020. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a chance of staying in the 2024 presidential race after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.
In their one and only debate, Biden (who handily defeated Trump four years earlier) seemed very confused about some of the questions, leading to widespread speculation that he was experiencing some form of cognitive decline. He eventually dropped out of the race so that his own VP Kamala Harris could run, but she lost in a landslide to Trump. Meanwhile, we’re worried about Biden…even as he finally steps down from political service, there are lingering concerns about how bad his mental state really is and how long senior Democrats might have been covering for him.
Without their protection, we might see more debate-like gaffes on Biden’s part after Donald Trump is officially inaugurated. And regardless of how you feel about Biden, that would be very sad to see.
RELATED: 8 Times Joe Biden Was Caught Being Really Weird
Nancy Pelosi
While Nancy Pelosi hasn’t been a politician as long as Joe Biden (she joined the House of Representatives in 1987 compared to Biden joining the Senate in 1972), her advanced age has also raised concerns about her ability to serve her country. As of this writing, she’s 84 years old (two years older than Biden) and has faced some severe health ailments. The scariest one occurred this past December when she fell down a marble staircase in Luxembourg and ended up breaking her hip.
A physical injury is arguably less concerning than cognitive decline, but Pelosi’s injury raised concerns that, like Biden, she was getting too old to stay in office. Unlike Biden, though, Pelosi has shown no signs of wanting to step down. This, combined with concerns that she has leveraged her office for profit (Yahoo! reports that she made 20 times her salary just last year via her husband’s well-timed NVIDIA investments), have made us nervous about Pelosi going into 2025.
Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell has made history in one fascinating way: he’s the longest-serving Senator in American history. That has given him an unprecedented opportunity to shape the nation’s future. However, much like fellow career politician Joe Biden, there are increasing signs that it is time for McConnell to step down after decades of service.
This past December, McConnell fell down, spraining his wrist and cutting his face. While he soon resumed duty, this incident reminded us of numerous occasions in 2023 when he fell down and injured himself, at one point causing a concussion that left him unable to attend to his political duties.
All of these injuries would be reason enough for us to worry about McConnell heading into 2025. But even more alarmingly, he froze up mid-sentence on camera in July 2023, and this wasn’t even the only time this happened. As with Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the Senator virtually shutting down raised concerns about potential cognitive decline and McConnell’s ability to provide competent leadership.
RELATED: The Most Disturbing Congressional Moments Caught On Camera
Donald Trump
None of the politicians on this list are more powerful than Donald Trump. After all, he’s about to be inaugurated for another term as president. This means that the controversial leader is about to spend another four years as, effectively, the most powerful person in the entire world.
Not everyone is happy about that, though, for many reasons. For example, Trump is only about three years younger than Biden; back in 2020, Trump claimed Biden was too old to be president, which means that (by his own metric) he’s now too old to serve. To be fair, Trump is looking quite spry compared to Biden, but his own prior words still have us worried about his age, especially when JD Vance (a largely unknown quantity, politically speaking) is now just a heartbeat away from the presidency.