This new app actually did surprisingly well in guessing presidential candidates' age
So you’re a presidential candidate, grinding through long, slogging days on the trail.
Want to feel young again? There’s a good chance a new age-guessing app/Internet distraction du jour will shed a few years off your actual age.
Microsoft’s How-Old.net calculates (or maybe just guesses) how old a person is based on a photo you upload into its system.
Results were mixed in our own newsroom (some were horrified, others flattered). So how’d it do with presidential candidates or likely hopefuls? Actually, not that terrible!
Out of the 13 candidates we tested, there were only three where the app was way off. One happens to be the Democratic presidential front-runner. Hillary Clinton is 67, but the app guessed she was 51:
Another miss was Republican candidate and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who the app evidently thinks is too young to run for president (he’s actually 44):
And then there’s Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who is expected to announce a run on Monday. He’s actually 63:
Other than those, though, the app was fairly spot-on. Out of the 10 remaining candidates, How-Old.net was off by about 4.3 years.
Let’s take a closer look:
Rick Perry, former governor of Texas
Projected age: 65
Actual age: 65
Verdict: Nailed it!
Bernie Sanders, Democratic candidate, senator from Vermont
Projected age: 74
Actual age: 73
Verdict: Off by 1
Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor
Projected age: 61
Actual age: 59
Verdict: Off by 2
Marco Rubio, Republican candidate and senator from Florida
Projected age: 40
Actual age: 43
Verdict: Off by 3
Rand Paul, Republican candidate and senator from Kentucky
Projected age: 56
Actual age: 52
Verdict: Off by 4
Donald Trump, perennial candidate and business magnate
Projected age: 72
Actual age: 68
Verdict: Off by 4
Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin
Projected age: 52
Actual age: 47
Verdict: Off by 5
Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida
Projected age: 54
Actual age: 62
Verdict: Off by 8
Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
Projected age: 52
Actual age: 60
Verdict: Off by 8
Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey
Projected age: 44
Actual age: 52
Verdict: Off by 8, again!
The app didn’t do very well with the current family in the White House, though. It’s only a few years off for Barack, but the app doesn’t think Michelle (actually 51) looks old enough to be Malia’s (actually 16) mother. Sasha Obama is 13 years old.
Brett LoGiurato is the senior national political correspondent at Fusion, where he covers all things 2016. He’ll give you everything you need to know about politics, with a healthy side of puns.