As it becomes more apparent by the day that President Biden is too old for his job, it seems Democrats are starting to lay the groundwork to abandon ship ahead of 2024.
In a story one would not have expected to see back when the Left was counting on him to be the next FDR, the New York Times is running a piece titled, “Should Biden Run in 2024? Democratic Whispers of ‘No’ Start to Rise.”
Here are some excerpts of the piece, which is based on interviews from dozens of Democrats, and includes on-the-record quotes:
Midway through the 2022 primary season, many Democratic lawmakers and party officials are venting their frustrations with President Biden’s struggle to advance the bulk of his agenda, doubting his ability to rescue the party from a predicted midterm trouncing and increasingly viewing him as an anchor that should be cut loose in 2024….
Interviews with nearly 50 Democratic officials, from county leaders to members of Congress, as well as with disappointed voters who backed Mr. Biden in 2020, reveal a party alarmed about Republicans’ rising strength and extraordinarily pessimistic about an immediate path forward.
“To say our country was on the right track would flagrantly depart from reality,” said Steve Simeonidis, a Democratic National Committee member from Miami. Mr. Biden, he said, “should announce his intent not to seek re-election in ’24 right after the midterms.”
Also:
To nearly all the Democrats interviewed, the president’s age — 79 now, 82 by the time the winner of the 2024 election is inaugurated — is a deep concern about his political viability. They have watched as a commander in chief who built a reputation for gaffes has repeatedly rattled global diplomacy with unexpected remarks that were later walked back by his White House staff, and as he has sat for fewer interviews than any of his recent predecessors.
“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,” said David Axelrod, the chief strategist for Barack Obama’s two winning presidential campaigns.
Again, this is all obvious to anybody who watches Biden for five minutes — in any speech, or press conference, or even a puff interview with Jimmy Kimmel. The idea that he could be trusted to serve as president for another six and a half years is patently absurd. But the fact that the house organ of the Democratic Party is running this piece and for somebody as prominent as Axelrod to be saying this on the record suggests that behind the scenes, Democrats are scrambling for a way to get him to forgo reelection.
Of course, that still leaves Democrats with a Vice President Kamala Harris problem.