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After months of speculation, President Joe Biden confirmed what most everyone predicted: he’s running for president in 2024. In his video announcement, Biden warned voters that their fundamental rights could be threatened by another Trump presidency. But Biden faces his own obstacles to a presidential win, starting with his age.
Straight Arrow News contributor Matthew Continetti takes a look at what Joe Biden is up against in what will surely be a tight race to the finish.
Voters not only disapprove of Biden’s job performance, they also have serious doubts about him personally. He is, at 80, the oldest president in American history. He will be 86 years old at the conclusion of a second term. This is a problem because voters see Biden as absent-minded and frail. A public that harbors doubts about Biden’s capacities won’t be making a simple choice between him and the Republican alternative next year. They instead will be choosing between Biden and his potential successor on one hand, and the Republican ticket on the other.
Making up lost ground ahead of Election Day is hard enough for an incumbent president. It’s twice as hard for an incumbent saddled with a running mate who’s become a liability. Still, Biden is considered the favorite. The reason is Trump, whose presence on the ballot in November 2024, would mobilize millions of voters who do not want to see him in the Oval Office again. Even here, though, there is cause for concern on the part of the White House. Trump has upended the world before. He could do so again.
Biden led Trump throughout the 2020 election. That is not the case today. The race is tight and it may grow tighter. Economic troubles, such as a banking crisis or recession, a Joe Manchin independent candidacy for president, legal problems for Hunter Biden, a health scare, or some other event could add to the incumbent’s burden.
Joe Biden may seem like a safe bet for reelection if you ignore his campaign rollout, lack of a message, job performance, approval ratings, running mate, and the horse race. And pay no attention when he fumbles over words and forgets where he is.
