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Democrats will seemingly keep Biden as their main candidate.
Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
According to a recent survey, 60% of American citizens consulted do not welcome the 80-year-old president of the United States seeking a second term. The numbers are clear: a vast majority of Americans are concerned about the age of Joe Biden and reject the fact that the Democrat has decided to run for re-election.
A poll conducted by NBC News found that 68% of registered voters are concerned that Biden lacks the mental and physical health to continue as president. In this sense, 55% of those consulted said they were “concerned” about the age of Biden, who, if he succeeded in the next elections, would be leaving the White House at 86 years of age.
Worsening the prognosis for the president and Democratic candidate for 2024, 60% of those polled responded that they were concerned that the candidate would be re-elected. 46% specifically said that the scenario caused them “major concerns.”
Confirming the low acceptance of the Democrat, other data from the survey shows that 44% of voters say that they would “definitely” or “probably” consider supporting an independent or third-party candidate for president in 2024. As all the polls indicate, this is in case the candidates are Joe Biden for the Democrats and former president Donald Trump, the current favourite in the internal race over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, for the Republicans.
The advanced age of Biden, who is the oldest president in US history, has been a focus of concern not only for voters but also for the very leaders and strategists of the Democratic Party, who, since the beginning of his term, have considered other figures as potential replacements for 2024.
However, Biden, who practically every week since he arrived at the White House has been in the news for slipping or suffering a physical accident, which has increased comments about his alleged senility or physical vulnerability, announced on April 25 that he would go for re-election and that he will repeat with his current vice president, Kamala Harris, the electoral formula.
There are stark differences, though, as Biden will be on the campaign trail, unlike in 2020, when most of the campaigning was done online due to the COVID pandemic. He will now be forced to be on public display, all whilst under greater scrutiny and more advanced age.
First Lady Jill Biden has been telling donors that “nothing” can slow down Joe Biden, despite most voters being concerned about his mental and physical health.
“Nothing can slow him down and now he’s ready to finish the job,” Jill Biden said at fundraisers in Minnesota and Tennessee on June 24, where donors gave millions of dollars to Biden’s re-election effort.
Yet, despite what Jill says, the situation has become so desperate that Hollywood movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg is counselling the president on how to “own” his age and treat it as an asset rather than a drawback for his re-election campaign. Katzenberg believes Biden ought to “lean into his longevity as a sign of wisdom and experience while offering a sense of humour about it.”
But no amount of Hollywood star power can stop Biden from his constant tumbles, jumbled words, and moments of confusion.
“Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f–k things up,” as his onetime boss, President Barack Obama, reportedly said.
One of Biden’s worst gaffes was when he sought out Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski at a White House conference — eight weeks after her high-profile death, in which he had even released a lengthy statement mourning her.
“Representative Jackie — are you here? Where’s Jackie?” he said from the podium while peering about the room. “I think she was going to be here.”
Who could forget that he challenged US official foreign policy by calling for regime change in Russia?
The White House quickly denied that is what he meant he said of Russian President Vladimir Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
Biden also said the US would defend Taiwan militarily if China attacked it, seemingly ending decades of non-commitment to that kind of intervention and sparking fury from Beijing and challenging the One China policy. The White House had to deny again what the entire world heard him say.
The president has also picked up a habit of constantly falling over, such as when he fell flat on his face at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in May or when he stumbled twice in a few weeks earlier this year as he walked up the steps of Air Force One, or in 2022 when he tumbled off his bike crossing a road.
Considering Biden’s mental and physical faculties are not what they should be for the president of a Great Power, it is easily understandable why most Americans show concern for his age in the leadup to the elections. It appears, for now, the Democrats will insist on Biden as their main candidate.
