Biden, 76, readies fitness challenge for Trump, 73

WASHINGTON: It could become the high point -- or low point -- of the 2020 US presidential election campaign: two septuagenarians vying to lead the country hitting the floor to see who can do more push-ups.

Democrat Senator Joe Biden, 76, said on Tuesday that if given the chance in a televised debate next year, he could challenge President Donald Trump, 73, to a fitness duel.

Biden -- who has faced questions about his age, even from some Democrats, since joining the race -- said he runs regularly on the routes of parades he participates in. He did so on the July 4 Independence Day holiday celebration in Independence, Missouri.

The Republican president, on the other hand, is seen as somewhat overweight and gets his exercise mostly in regular rounds of golf, in which he traverses the links by cart. If Biden wins the Democratic Party nomination and faces Trump in the election in November 2020, though, the president could criticise Biden’s relatively older age in debates between the two.

"I’d say, ‘Come on, Donald, come on, man, how many push-ups do you want to do here, pal?’" the former vice president said on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" show. There was no immediate response from Trump, but he could perhaps counter with a test on the golf course.

That could place Biden at a distinct disadvantage: according to a recent book by respected sports writer Rick Reilly, "Commander in Cheat," lifelong golfer Trump regularly breaks golfing rules in order to win.