OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
As the primaries for the mid-term elections approach, all are looking ahead to the 2024 elections and whether Joe Biden will run again.
In addition to the failure of his 1.8 trillion “Build Back Better” plan, voting rights expansion, and the military disaster in Afghanistan, Biden has suffered physical and mental breakdowns.
Daily Mail reported that Biden was walking in a boot after breaking his foot while playing with his dog, Major, in November 2020, and his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement at the time that he would likely be required to wear a bootie for several weeks.
The president was then filmed falling three times as he boarded Air Force One in March 2021.
The president’s fall was blamed on a ‘breeze,’ and he did not suffer any injuries, but he took another tumble boarding Air Force One last month.
Daily Mail continues the report on Biden’s mishaps with the fact that in December 2019, there were concerns over Biden’s health, in particular leading up to the 2020 election.
He released medical records which showed he has an irregular heartbeat and high cholesterol, but which described him as a ‘healthy, vigorous 77-year-old.’
Some experts questioned whether or not he was as healthy as he claimed.
In addition, days before the election, he became confused when introducing his granddaughter Natalie at an event, and instead referred to her as ‘my son Beau’. Beau Biden died in 2015 after battling a brain tumor.
He has mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘president’ and incorrectly told US troops that they were going to Ukraine.
Last month, the president was pictured extending his hand for a handshake from nobody during a speech in North Carolina where he wandered off stage.
Some Democrats think that age is a factor.
That even includes David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s former chief strategist who would have worked with 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 New York Times.
The political veteran said Biden ‘doesn’t get the credit he deserves’ for leading the country through the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which he again ascribed to the president’s elderly stature.
‘He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of a camera as he once was, and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality,’ Axelrod said.
A Miami DNC member suggested the president ‘should announce his intent not to seek re-election in ’24 right after the midterms,’ Daily Mail reports.
Nearly all 50 Democratic officials interviewed by the Times feared a Biden re-election campaign would not help their party against Republicans, who are expected to make sweeping victories in the coming midterms.
The Mail continues, Biden ‘is seeking a second term,’ his friend and ally Senator Chris Coons said on Fox News Sunday, but it seems many Democrats do not agree.
‘Democrats need fresh, bold leadership for the 2024 presidential race…that can’t be Biden,’ a member of the Democratic National Committee from North Carolina said.
So, who would be poised to replace Biden to possibly run against Trump?
Few of those interviewed by the Times said they did not expect Vice President Kamala Harris to run, as she has failed as the border czar.
Howard Dean, the former DNC chairman, echoed the need for a fresh face and revealed he had coted for the 40-year-old Buttigieg in the 2020 primary.
‘The generation after me is just a complete trash heap,’ Dean told the Times.
On Sunday, Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, was asked by CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash but was evasive.
The congresswoman’s name has been floated multiple times as a potential Democratic presidential contender, though she’s still three years shy of the minimum age requirement for the office.
Ocasio-Cortez answered with an uncomfortable laugh when asked point-blank if she’ll get behind Biden.
‘You know, if the president chooses to run again in 2024 – I mean, first of all, I’m focused on winning this majority right now, and preserving a majority this year in 2022,’ Ocasio-Cortez said.
Ocasio-Cortez, a leader in the progressive movement, answered with an uncomfortable laugh when asked point-blank if she’ll get behind Biden.
‘You know, if the president chooses to run again in 2024 – I mean, first of all, I’m focused on winning this majority right now, and preserving a majority this year in 2022,’ Ocasio-Cortez said.
‘So we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I think if the president has a vision – that’s something certainly we’re all willing to entertain and examine when that when the time comes.’
Bash observed: ‘That’s not a yes.’
‘Yeah, you know, I think we should endorse when we get to it, but I believe that the president has been doing a very good job so far,’ the congresswoman offered.
‘Should he run again, I think that I – you know, I think it’s – it’s, we’ll take a look at it,’ Ocasio-Cortez laughed.
‘But, right now, we need to focus on winning a majority, instead of a presidential election.’
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Source: The Republic Brief