As his poll numbers continue to sink to unprecedented lows, there have been reports that Democrats a mulling talking Joe Biden out of running for reelection in 2024!
President Biden has said that he planned to run for reelection in 2024 so long as he remained “in good health.” He has even said he looks forward to a rematch against Trump, should he become the GOP’s nominee.
However, an increasingly vocal segment of Democrats — rattled by Biden’s dismal approval ratings, concerned about his age, and worried about the lack of voter enthusiasm heading into the 2022 midterms — are questioning whether the president should seek reelection in 2024.
The NY Times is reporting that many Democratic lawmakers are pondering Biden’s standing in the party. While the base remains deeply appreciative of the 79-year-old former Delaware senator and two-term vice president for defeating Trump at the ballot box in 2020, they are questioning whether he is the best shot for the continuation of a Democrat in the oval office.
The concern is valid. Right now, Democrats only have a wafer-thin majority in the House and Senate and have struggled to pass major pieces of legislation outside of last year’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The GOP is poised to take back both chambers in the midterms and is also looking to 2024 to win back control of the White House, particularly if Trump decides to run again.
The Times spoke with 50 Democratic officials — from local party leaders to members of Congress, along with deflated voters who backed Biden in 2020 — to assess the president’s standing.
Top Democrats mostly declined to go on the record to discuss Biden’s future as the party leader, but the perception among the party’s base is that his seeming ineffectiveness and lackluster poll numbers have them worried about his ability to lead and succeed in running for a second term.
The issues that have become amplified over the past year — including inflation that has hit numbers not seen since the early 1980s, gas prices that have reached $5 nationally, perceived inaction on gun reform in Congress, the potential of Roe v. Wade being overturned, and Democratic infighting over what was the ambitious Build Back Better social-spending package — have taken their toll on the administration and on their ability to highlight successes to even their staunchest supporters.
Beyond that, the President’s advancing age cannot be ignored. If Biden were to be reelected in 2024, he would be 82 years old at the time of his inauguration in January 2025, and he’d be 86 at the end of his second term. Some Democratic voters have expressed concern with Biden’s age.
David Axelrod, a longtime political consultant and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, spoke of the demanding nature of the position and the perception issues that have weighed down Biden.
“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job, and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,” Axelrod told The Times.
So if not Biden 2024, Who?
Kamala Harris is almost as unpopular among the base and the more so among the general electorate, so it is not given that the VP would be the successor should Biden step aside.
Potential challengers include many of the younger candidates who sought the Democratic nomination in 2020, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, among others.
Comments are closed.