Democratic leaders are rallying publicly to stand behind Joe Biden their boyfriend For the 2024 presidential election – which could set up a rematch with Donald Trump – but it’s a different story behind the scenes.
According to a recent Politico article, Biden is drawing doubt from some “high-level Democrats” who may only support the president because they fear what the ticket might look like without Biden.
“Top Democrats are pushing for President Biden’s re-election not because the 82-year-old is in the country’s best interest, but because they fear a possible alternative: Kamala Harris and the nomination. The election of Donald Trump,” the report said.
In 2020, Biden and Vice President Harris defeated Trump when they received more votes than any other presidential ticket in US history. But three years later, Biden’s approval rating is in the low 40s, and numerous verbal deviations are causing headaches for the White House press team.
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Biden goes to speak to the press during a walk to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, March 3, 2023. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
According to a Politico report, at a meeting of the National Governors Association in February, the senator went so far as to question whether Biden had the stamina for the presidential campaign season. Biden won his first election amid a travel ban amid the COVID pandemic and spent much of his time campaigning from his basement.
At that winter meeting of the NGA, the congressman “said Harris couldn’t,” Politico reported.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Roundtable at Chinatown Chem Mark Lai Library on March 3, 2023 in San Francisco, California, United States. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Douglas McKinnon, a former White House and Pentagon official, said that if Biden or Harris are not available, Democrats may turn to a former superstar to form a viable ticket.
Former first lady Michelle Obama’s name came up before the last Democratic presidential primary, although she has repeatedly denied that she wants to run for office. At 59 years old and with his “it” factor (as McKinnon noted), he may be seen as the best candidate, and Democrats may push him to the polls.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at Victoria Gardens in Ahmedabad on February 5, 2023. (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Other candidates could include those who previously won the Democratic presidential nomination, a resurgence of Hillary Clinton, John Kerry or Al Gore (setting up another rematch between Clinton and Trump).
But the hypothetical candidates Clinton, 75, Kerry, 79, and Gore, 74, failed to address the concerns of some voters who wanted to be president.
Democrats can also consider past candidates who have generated public support but ultimately failed to secure the nomination. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. and Cory Booker, D-N.J., are each running in 2020 and could be another presidential contender.
Warren is 73, Sanders is 81, Klobuchar is 62 and Booker is 53.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also ran in 2020 and lost, but joined the Biden administration and has continued to grow his political resume over the past three years.
He is 41.
Beto O’Rourke, who recently lost a state race in Texas, is 50 years old.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 4, 2023 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Governments. California’s Gavin Newsom, 55, and Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, 51, may also consider moving from their state offices to the White House.
McKinnon said any of those candidates would have had to come up with a strategy to explain why Democrats turned away from Biden or Harris.
“Isn’t the prospect of a former superstar a 2024 contender a pipe dream? Probably. But with a river of political denial threatening to wash away Democrats’ chances in 2024, what else is the party to do?” he asked.
Currently, self-help author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson is the only candidate to launch a long-term challenge to Biden.
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“We’re upset about this country, we’re worried about this country,” Williamson told a crowd Saturday as he officially launched his campaign. “Our mission is to create a vision of justice and love strong enough to overcome the forces of hatred, injustice and fear.”
Self-help author Marianne Williamson speaks to a crowd as she launches her 2024 presidential campaign in Washington, D.C., Saturday, March 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Williamson, 70, is also running for office in 2020.
“I’ve run for president before. I’m not naïve about these forces that don’t want to let anyone into this conversation who doesn’t fit their predetermined agenda,” he added. “I understand that in their opinion, only those who have previously been in the car that brought us into this hole can be considered fit to get us out of it.”
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According to a Fox News poll last month, 37 percent of Democratic primary voters said they wanted to keep Biden as their party’s nominee, while 53 percent said they wanted someone else to run.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
