Maxine Waters stood at the Essence Festival in 2024 and told the crowd Joe Biden was getting stronger every day.
Two months later Biden was out of the race – and now a reporter handed Waters the one question she had no answer for.
What she said when he asked about a 100-year-old congressman is something her party cannot afford to have on video.
Maxine Waters Refuses to Name Any Age Limit for Congress
TMZ producer Jacob Wasserman caught up with Maxine Waters outside the U.S. Capitol and asked a simple question: are some leaders just too old?
Waters waved it off.
Elected officials should be judged on "performance and effectiveness," she said – not age.
Wasserman pressed harder, pointing out that Trump was about to turn 80 and that Biden's age had already cost Democrats the White House.
Waters snapped.
"Don't have to ask me about Trump. You know what I think about him."
She launched into a minute-long attack – Trump is destroying democracy, enriching himself with cryptocurrency, lying to the American people, dangerous and divisive.
"We've got to fight, fight, fight!" she declared.
Wasserman waited, then came back to the original question one more time.
"Should there be an age limit to be president?"
"The people should evaluate who should be in office with their vote, and that's it," Waters answered.
Wasserman went one step further and asked the hypothetical directly: should a 100-year-old fighter still be in office?
Waters said yes.
Then Wasserman gave up.
Waters Defended Biden in 2024 While Democrats Covered Up His Mental Unfitness
This exchange would be uncomfortable for any 87-year-old serving in Congress.
For Maxine Waters, it lands differently.
In July 2024 – days after Biden's catastrophic debate performance – Waters took the stage at Essence Festival and told the crowd Biden was "already starting to do better" and getting "stronger every day."
"There ain't gonna be no other Democratic candidate," she said. "It's going to be Biden, and you better know it."
The book Original Sin – reported by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson from 200-plus interviews with Democrat insiders – laid out what Waters and her colleagues had watched in private for years: Biden didn't recognize George Clooney at a fundraiser where the actor was co-hosting the event, called his own national security adviser by the wrong name according to the book's sources, and had been falling apart since 2023.
Democrats who saw it said nothing.
Waters told the world he was fine and getting better.
Now the same standard she applied to Biden – judge them on effectiveness, not age – is the only shield she has left.
Poll Finds 63 Percent of Americans Support Age Limits as Waters Runs for Reelection at 87
A Daily Mail/JL Partners poll published in March found that 63 percent of Americans support age limits for elected officials, with the most common answer being 70.
Waters is 87.
She has served in Congress since 1991 and is running for reelection, positioning herself to retake the gavel as chair of the House Financial Services Committee if Democrats win back the House.
Three House Democrats died in office during the current Congress – Sylvester Turner at 70, Raúl Grijalva at 77, Gerry Connolly at 75.
Former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg committed $20 million to back younger challengers against aging Democrat incumbents in safe districts.
Waters' own party is trying to push her generation out.
She responded by telling a reporter that a 100-year-old should stay in Congress as long as the voters keep sending them back.
The Democrats spent two years insisting Biden was sharp, capable, and ready for four more years in the Oval Office.
Every one of them who said it knew better – and Original Sin proved it.
The age problem didn't start with Biden's debate night collapse.
It started when Democrats decided the cover-up was worth more than the country – and they're still making that decision.
Sources:
- David Lindfield, "Maxine Waters Responds to Questions About Age Limits for Politicians: Trump 'Is Destroying Our Democracy,'" Slay News, May 15, 2026.
- "Maxine Waters Won't Say 100 Is Too Old to Serve In Congress During TMZ Grilling," Mediaite, May 14, 2026.
- "Black leaders reaffirm support for Joe Biden amid Democratic infighting," The Hill, July 8, 2024.
- "Poll finds 63 percent of Americans want age limits for Congress as Waters, 87, launches another reelection bid," Heritage Review, March 24, 2026.
- "Forget Retirement: Older Lawmakers Want to Stay in Congress," NOTUS, August 27, 2025.