Is Nikki Haley Guilty of Ageism with Her “Grumpy Old Men” Ad?
BU School of Social Work aging and gerontology expert says teasing and mocking the elderly has become normalized—and that’s not okay
In a new ad campaign called “Grumpy Old Men,” Republican Nikki Haley takes aim at both former President Trump and President Biden, questioning whether they are too old to lead the country. Photo by Matt Rourke, Matt Kelley, Ben McKeown all via AP images.
Is Nikki Haley Guilty of Ageism with Her “Grumpy Old Men” Ad?
BU School of Social Work aging and gerontology expert says teasing and mocking the elderly has become normalized—and that’s not okay
Nikki Haley is done being subtle about how she feels toward her two roadblocks to the White House—President Biden and former President Trump. Haley, vying with Trump for the GOP nomination and going head-to-head with Biden in the November election, leaves no doubts about what she thinks of her two rivals in her newest ad campaign.
The ad shows a picture of Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, wearing winter hats and bundled up like curmudgeons amid falling snowflakes, and underneath the words “Grumpy Old Men.” It’s a direct play off the 1993 movie of the same name starring two grumpy old men, played by Oscar winners Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. But it’s also part of a broader strategy Haley is launching, with videos, voter emails, and digital ads, highlighting the similarities between Trump and Biden while at the same time questioning their mental fitness. The ads feature titles like “Basement Buddies” and “Stumbling Seniors.”
Some people might see humor and cleverness in the Grumpy Old Men personas, but for Haley, who is 52, is the new ad campaign an example of outright ageism? As a direct attack on the age and competency of both Biden and Trump, does it go too far? Or is there simply no more line to cross in politics, with everything fair game?
To explore these questions, BU Today spoke with Bronwyn Keefe, a research assistant professor and assistant dean of workforce and professional development at BU’s School of Social Work and director of SSW’s Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research (CADER) and Network for Professional Education.
Q&A
with Bronwyn Keefe
BU Today: When I saw this ad, I admit that I chuckled, but at the same time I cringed a little bit. Is this going too far in your mind? Is the ad an example of ageism?
What is not fair in love and politics? I think this particular issue is just something that is pretty normalized. While maybe it reached you that way, I don’t think it reached the masses that way. Ageism is just pervasive. When you go to CVS or someplace to get a birthday card, it’s everywhere, jokes about being older, not being able to hear—it’s so normalized. It’s one of the most normalized forms of discrimination. And it’s accepted. That is one of the challenges we find in the healthcare field. It’s more ubiquitous or accepted than others.
BU Today: Does that surprise you?
I am amazed how many people are saying Biden and Trump are too old to be running and shouldn’t be doing this. This makes older people feel invisible, small, and useless. It has an impact on the older adult population that is really detrimental. People who experience ageism have poorer physical or mental health outcomes that are worse. We as educators are thinking about this all the time. When children are home and are still young, that’s when you have to start saying to them, this is not okay, and discussing these issues.
BU Today: So what’s the risk of a campaign like this?
I think the risk of focusing on the age of the candidates is that it could lead to inertia around voting, specifically with Gen Z, as they are already feeling lackluster about the candidate choices. This is very strategic, and I have to say, smart, by Haley. She is saying, “If you are going to vote, look at what you have to choose from.” For people who are already not that interested in the candidates, this solidifies that opinion for them.
BU Today: But to be fair, aging has changed, hasn’t it? People are living longer, they are living healthier and having second and third chapters to their lives.
You’re talking about the movement around positive aging now. Yes, people are living longer and healthier lives, and there’s a lot of new images with older adults. Martha Stewart was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. The Rolling Stones announced they were going on tour and that the AARP is sponsoring it, and some questioned whether that would be a strong selling point or not. I do think there is also this tension between younger and older generations around resources. You see articles about how the older generation is not moving out of their big houses, and the younger generation can’t get any housing. And it’s the same with jobs, older people not retiring, and now [younger people] can’t get that job.
BU Today: Interesting. That’s certainly one storyline we hear in politics, that too many older politicians are hanging around and it’s very hard for the next generation to rise up.
I think this ad is another way to appeal to that tension: they have had their time and it’s our time now. The younger generation feels the [older generation] is not thinking about issues important to their generation. This type of campaign continues to feed into that in a subtle way. It used to be that the Baby Boom generation was the one that could be the big strong voting power, and there is now this tension with Gen Z and Boomers.
BU Today: Is this new?
The reframing of the aging movement was making headway, but then the pandemic came, and we saw many older adults dying at a disproportionate level. Resources were scarce and choices were made on whose lives held more value in our society. The pandemic put us back quite a bit.
BU Today: Do you think Nikki Haley could face any backlash or risk with her Grumpy Old Men ad, or not?
I think for the most part it will resonate with the core group that she is targeting. People in my field might feel, or hope, there will be backlash. But I think the general public, not so much. I think there will be people who will notice [ageism], but from the mainstream she probably won’t get any backlash. And that’s the sad part.
My hope is that there will be more of a backlash from this. But again, when you walk down the aisle of birthday cards at CVS, that’s the message. See if you can find one that doesn’t have that same message.
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