According to four people who regularly talk to Biden, it is virtually inconceivable that he would run for re-election in 2024
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s top advisers and prominent Democrats outside the Biden campaign have recently revived a long-running debate whether Biden should publicly pledge to serve only one term, with Biden himself signaling to aides that he will serve only a single term.
While the option of making a public pledge remains available, Biden has for now settled on an alternative strategy: quietly indicate that he will almost certainly not run for a second term while declining to make a promise that he and his advisers fear could turn him into a lame duck and sap him of his political capital.According to four people who regularly talk to Biden, all of whom asked for anonymity to discuss internal campaign matters, it is virtually inconceivable that he will run for re-election in 2024, when he would be the first octogenarian president.“If Biden is elected,” a prominent adviser to the campaign said, “he’s going to be 82 years old in four years and he won’t be running for reelection.” The adviser argued that public acknowledgment of that reality could help Biden assuage younger voters, especially on the left, who are unexcited by his candidacy and fear that his nomination would serve as an eight-year roadblock to the next generation of Democrats. By signaling that he will serve just one term and choosing a running mate and Cabinet that is young and diverse, Biden could offer himself to the Democratic primary electorate as the candidate best suited to defeat Trump as well as the candidate who can usher into power the party’s fresh faces. “This makes Biden a good transition figure,” the adviser said. “I'd love to have an election this year for the next generation of leaders, but if I have to wait four years [in order to] to get rid of Trump, I'm willing to do it.” Another top Biden adviser put it this way: “He’s going into this thinking, ‘I want to find a running mate I can turn things over to after four years but if that’s not possible or doesn’t happen then I’ll run for re-election.’ But he’s not going to publicly make a one term pledge.” In elite Democratic circles, conversations about Biden’s age and whether to address it with a one-term pledge have become more urgent in recent weeks as Biden has solidified his once shaky standing in the Democratic primaries. “I'd love to have an election this year for the next generation of leaders, but if I have to wait four years [in order to] to get rid of Trump, I'm willing to do it.”Since Thanksgiving there has been a gradual shift among prominent Democrats once deeply skeptical of Biden’s candidacy. In national polls, Elizabeth Warren, who was on a trajectory to topple Biden, has lost all the gains she achieved since July and fallen to third place. Pete Buttigieg, who has replaced Warren as the hot candidate among white college-educated voters, has shown no evidence that, even as he thrills a subset of the Democratic electorate in Iowa, he can achieve broad appeal among African American and Latino voters. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won 43 percent of the primary vote in 2016, has been unable to break out of the mid-teens for most of this year. Biden’s base of older working-class white and African American voters has been unassailable. A year of national polling of the Democratic primary shows his remarkably consistent support. According to theon Dec. 8, 2018, Biden had 29 percent support nationally. On Dec. 8, 2019, he had 29 percent support. The greatest threats to Biden’s African-American base have been neutralized. Sen. Kamala Harris has suspended her campaign. Sen. Cory Booker has struggled to qualify for the PBS News Hour/POLITICO Debate, on Dec. 19. Former Gov. Deval Patrick, a pre-Thanksgiving entrant to the race, has barely been heard from and is polling at less than 1 percent. This current bright spot could just be some momentary sunshine for Biden before storm clouds gather. Biden’s position in Iowa and New Hampshire, overwhelmingly white states packed with college-educated Democrats unexcited by his candidacy, is middling. Poor showings in both states could upend the race. Warren, who has built a robust national campaign and is generally seen by Biden’s advisers as the strongest primary opponent remaining, could still make a comeback. Biden has struggled with fundraising, while all three of his top opponents — Warren, Sanders, and Buttigieg — have demonstrated the potential to fund a long campaign against him. Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire who has quietly bought himself into fifth place by spending tens of millions of dollars on television ads, looms as a potential Super Tuesday threat on March 3, after the first four states have voted. But, for now, Biden remains the favorite, a fact that even the online betting markets, which were wildly bullish on Warren from September through November, nowAnd so the question of how to address Biden’s age, which may be the candidate’s most significant liability, and the related question of the lack of enthusiasm for Biden’s candidacy among the activist wing of their party, has once again seized Democrats. A top Biden adviser said that Biden ruled out a one-term pledge when the issue was raised before he even entered the race. “He said it was a nonstarter,” the adviser said, adding that Biden believed it was a “gimmick.” But Biden’s public statements on running for reelection have shifted over the course of the campaign.
Please follow us on Google to support us United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Here's the question Joe Biden still needs to answer about Hunter BidenHere's the question Joe Biden still needs to answer about Hunter Biden | Analysis by CillizzaCNN
Read more »
Jezebel's Cancel Tournament Enters Round 2: The Kardashians and Joe Biden Still in the RunningWelcome to Round Two of Jezebel’s Cancel Tournament. On Monday, we attempted to cancel a series of concepts, including marriage, which you guys seem to really love. Here are the results.
Read more »
Biden and Sanders atop 2020 Democratic primary field, Monmouth poll findsFormer Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders continue to hold the top two spots in the Democratic 2020 primary field, while Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is in third place, a new Monmouth University poll released Tuesday finds.
Read more »
Biden claims he has the most diverse staff — but won’t back it upElizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders all say their staffs are about 40 percent people of color.
Read more »
Joe Biden gets endorsement of South Carolina's 'Reckoning Crew' after Harris exitFormer Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday picked up the endorsement of the 'Reckoning Crew' in South Carolina, a group of 100 predominately black female activists that previously supported Sen. Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.
Read more »
Joe Biden leads two national polls, while Michael Bloomberg debuts in top fiveBloomberg is at 5% with Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters in a poll published Tuesday, still far from the leading three candidates.
Read more »