It’s been just over a year since Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, handily crushing incumbent Donald J. Trump (despite what he continues to say). It hasn’t been smooth sailing, and some have wondered if he’ll run again, especially considering he’ll be nearly 83 during Election Day 2024. But word is that, some three years out, he’s already talking about seeking re-election.
This comes from The Washington Post, which reports that, despite cratering approval ratings less than a year into his administration, he’s been telling allies that, in three years, he’s up for four more years.
“The only thing I’ve heard him say is he’s planning on running again,” said former senator and Biden pal Chris Dodd. “And I’m glad he is.”
A Biden re-run is not a given. At a fundraiser earlier this month, he told a group of donors that, while he was at least probably going to run again, he’s also “never been able to plan 3½, four years ahead, for certain.” There’s also fear about his health (though he was deemed “vigorous” during a physical on Friday). Former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell added that, “He will not run if he feels he can’t do the job physically or emotionally.”
But will his party have him again? The Post spoke with 28 Democratic strategists and officials, and they weren’t ruling out the idea of someone to replace him on the ticket in 2024. One source told them they “couldn’t think single person they had spoken to in the last month who considers the possibility of Biden running again to be a real one.”
Since taking office in January, Biden has had untold messes to clean up. There have been scandals, notably the messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Inflation is driving up prices (though it might not be quite the mess some are claiming it is). And his approval rating is currently in the low 40s. It’s still relatively early days, though, both for restoring faith in his administration and for deciding who would be suitable to tackle the Republican frontrunner in three more years, be that Trump again or maybe that guy whose state has one of the highest COVID death rates in the nation.
(Via The Post)
Source: https://uproxx.com/viral/joe-biden-run-election-2024/