Filenews 15 February 2024 - by Sarah Dorn
Concerns about President Joe Biden's age and ability to effectively serve a second term are mounting, reigniting the possibility — despite denials from members of his campaign — that he will withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
Biden's age, combined with his rhetorical gaffes and low approval rating among voters, have fuelled speculation about potential successors to Biden in the presidential race. Most of the candidates are supporters of Biden, so far they have rejected the possibility of challenging the Democratic president.
If a health problem prevents Joe Biden from fulfilling his presidential duties — and second-level they put him out of contention for a second term — incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris is upgraded to take the reins of the country, but that doesn't mean she's his successor as the party's nominee in the 2024 presidential polls.
Harris is the most obvious, de facto choice to replace Biden on the electoral ballot, but her dismal poll ratings (her approval rating currently stands at 38%, according to FiveThirtyEight) raise strong fears that she might lose to Donald Trump — the favourite to represent Republicans in this election.
California Governor Gavin Newsom's political activity — including his support for Democrats in the California election — has sparked rumours that he is running a "shadow campaign" for the White House. Newsom has categorically denied the speculation, sworn allegiance to Biden for 2024 and is campaigning.
There are other Democratic governors who have raised their profile nationally: Illinois Governor J. Bush. B. Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Colorado Governor Jared City and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. All are emerging as potential alternatives to replace Biden, especially since all four won elections in their states by double digits in 2022. However, all of them support Biden's 2024 candidacy and have ruled out running as his running mates.
An adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, a year older than Biden, said in 2022 that the senator had not ruled out running for president in 2024 in the event of an open primary. Since then, however, Sanders has vowed to stay out of office and come out in favour of Biden (Sanders ran in the 2016 and 2020 primaries but lost to Hillary Clinton and Biden respectively, and among Democrats many fear that identifying himself as a democratic socialist would reduce his chances of winning the presidency).
None of Biden's current running mates are considered to have any claim to the nomination. However, Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race would be an opportunity to raise their profile and gain hope for their candidacy. They are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornell West, as well as Dean Phillips.
The baseless theory that Democrats could nominate Michelle Obama for the 2024 polls has been circulating for years, as polls show she has high approval ratings. But Michelle Obama herself has repeatedly said she will never run for president.
Even if Biden withdraws from the race, a new candidate is unlikely to surpass his number of representatives, as deadlines for applying to get on the primaries have passed in all but six states. Since delegates are not required to endorse the nominee at the Democratic Party Convention on August 19, Biden could urge them to support another candidate in the unlikely event that he eventually leaves. If Biden wins the nomination in Congress but is unable to run in November, under the rules of the convention, Democratic Party Chairman Chimi Harrison would have to consult Congress and the Democratic Governors Association to nominate a new candidate to the Democratic National Committee.
86% of respondents to an ABC/Ipsos poll released Monday believe Biden is old enough for a second presidential term. The percentage in the corresponding question for 77-year-old Trump is about 62%.
A Justice Department report last week acquitted Biden of criminal charges in his investigation into his handling of classified documents, but contained some pointed comments about the president's age. The report claims Biden's memory was "significantly limited" in interviews with a ghost-writer in 2017 and with the special counsel last year. The report, along with a new string of rhetorical "missteps" on the campaign trail, have intensified Republican criticism that Biden is too old to run for a second term.
Biden's allies have fiercely defended the president and criticized the way his intellectual abilities are described in the report. Meanwhile, Biden's approval rating hovers around 38 percent, and Trump leads in many polls for the presidential election.
Performance – editing: Michalis Papantonopoulos
