blow 81 candles It should be cause for celebration but Not many parties expected at home Joe Biden When is the president this Monday? United States of America Celebrate your name day. age dead one of the heaviest burdens In the Democrat’s attempt to win re-election in November 2024, taking time off from the suffocation of inflation even if it falls. No matter how much Biden himself, his campaign strategists, and the highest echelons of the Democratic Party have tried in vain to minimize this. The “age problem” is an uncomfortable truth.
Poll after poll confirms what is palpable in interviews with Americans and in the work of strategists and pollsters with select groups of voters: There are deep skepticism about the opportunity for a current leader to run again. the oldest president in the country’s history If he wins again in 2024, he will be 82 when he begins his second four-year term.
And these surveys and ‘focus groups’ go deeper than just the number 81: in a recent poll, 71% said they considered it too old. 62% don’t think they have the mental agility to be effectivealso just 44% when asked about Donald Trumpuntil June next year 77 years and several recent polls show him ahead of Biden in most of the key states in 2024. In a working group of independent voters, the first phrase they used for Biden was this combination: “stale“, “slower and slower” and even “dementia” And “weakened“.
The elephant in the room
A growing number of suspected anti-Democratic voices are daring to speak out publicly alarms. There anxiety and as Democratic strategist James Carville puts it, “anxiety“, it also grows because there is something perceived lack of enthusiasm And Breaks in the coalition The event that brought Biden to the White House in 2020 Minority voters’ flight to the Republican Party even for him disenchantment of young people and minorities with uninterrupted support policy Israel Despite the human tragedy that ensues Loop. And they accumulate Call from Biden to rethink his decision to re-present themselves, at least those who claim to do so stop ignoring the elephant in the room or at least those who beg for some primariesFor now, it’s just an internal race where he’s facing a congressman. Dean Phillips Following Robert Kennedy Jr.’s decision to run as an independent.
These are messages that the president himself and his allies do not welcome. earlier this month David Axelrod Obama, who is an advisor to Barack Obama, published a message to X, saying that Biden should make a decision and consider whether to continue the race. in your or the country’s interest“Biden reacted by calling him privately”stupid“, according to media reports. Campaign spokesman Kevin Muñoz was on a mission to recall that Axelrod said in 2011 that Obama’s election process was over.
They get angry too Nate SilverThe statistician behind fivethirtyeight.com wrote: “Democrats big risk They will replace Biden, but they also undertake this by nominating him.” “If Biden Can’t keep up a typical president’s schedule who is running for re-election or prone to making mistakes” Silver wrote: “Voters and the media will notice this and More than 80 years of age is like a barrier to his neck“.
Biden resistance
Part of the problem experts see is this: Biden and his team have resisted addressing the issue directly.. The president chose to innocent jokes about your age or to answer questions challenging tonehe has a hard time finding fault with his activities, his travels, his legislative achievements… As Jonathan Martin explains on ‘Politico’, the president did not commission polls to determine how to reassure voters on this issue, complains angrily in response to criticism and doesn’t even want to hear about wearing hearing aids, for example.
With Trump is the absolute favorite Seeking to win the Republican nomination despite the rise of Nikki Haley, the president and his allies and defenders are trying to bolster his case that he already beat her in 2020 and is therefore best prepared to do it again in 2024. As many media emphasize, they More slips and mistakes were made embers Recently trying to point out that age has negative effects on a candidate, he further adds: serious legal problems. Referring to Trump’s accusations, Democratic Senator John Fetterman said, “I would always choose ‘I’ll go to bed’ over ‘I’ll go to jail.’” said.
worst case scenario
Nothing will stop Biden’s age from continuing to be a central element of political debate among Democrats. scary scenarios too much. Is happening Deadline expires for potential primary challengers to introduce themselves. Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval numberswho would have been his natural political heir had he not completed his degree. Worse than Biden’s.
What will happen then is an important question. Potential alternatives to Harris are being evaluated. California Governor Gavin Newsom; This Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer; or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttitieg. These are just speculations, but one thing is now certain, as a member of the Democratic National Committee stated anonymously to ‘Politico’: “It would be irresponsible if we weren’t worried.“.