Speculation continues to grow that President Joe Biden, who will be 82 at the end of the current presidential election cycle, will actually decide at some point in the near future not to seek a second term, as more Democrats reportedly are getting nervous about his apparent cognitive and physical decline.
“When is the optimal time for Biden to drop out of the race?” says the headline of a recent op-ed in The Hill by Douglas MacKinnon, who wrote speeches for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
The Daily Wire’s Joseph Curl adds: “Biden’s 80 years old. His proclivity for gaffes (and falling down — or sometimes up, like when he stumbled ascending the stairs of Air Force One) is legendary. The list grows almost daily (on Monday he looked wobbly when meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace, grabbing his arm for support). Biden rarely holds press conferences, and when he does, it appears as if he has the questions from the press in advance”.
MacKinnon went on to say that he’s hearing from “a number of Democrats — including staunch supporters of the president” that they’re “nervous” and “uncomfortable” about Biden running for reelection.
“As stated in this space in the past, I don’t believe Biden will be the Democratic nominee in 2024. Now, while the president, his White House and his allies may predictably denounce such speculation as ridiculous or wishful thinking, what if I and others turn out to be correct?” MacKinnon wrote, adding in his own timeline for when Biden should drop out: “Immediately”.
Lyndon Johnson was the last incumbent president who chose not to seek re-election. He made the decision to withdraw from the presidential race on the final day of March in 1968, which was less than six months before Election Day. His announcement came just two weeks after Robert F. Kennedy, brother of former President John F. Kennedy, jumped into the race for the Democratic nomination.
When Johnson dropped out, his approval rating was a tad over 38 percent; Biden’s right now sits at around 41 percent, on average.
MacKinnon went on to note that LBJ’s and Biden’s situations are nearly identical.
“One reason for” Johnson dropping out “was a lack of confidence in then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey to retain the White House should he become the Democratic nominee. That concern was of course realized when Humphrey became the nominee and got crushed in the general election by Republican Richard Nixon”, he wrote.
There is a sense of apprehension among some Democrats regarding Vice President Kamala Harris potentially running for the nomination and winning, Curl noted further. Her approval rating currently stands at 39.2 percent, which is lower than Biden’s.
Moreover, he pointed out, there have been reports indicating that Biden has expressed uncertainty about Harris’s preparedness for political battles. In March, Democratic sources informed Reuters News Agency that the president is frustrated with Harris’s approach to her duties and doubts her ability to defeat a Republican candidate next year.
Curl continues:
And there’s another interesting thing going on in the campaign — which is, of course, already well underway. Biden, who literally ran his last campaign from his basement as he hid from COVID-19 (and voters), is barely trying.
Biden’s campaign has so far hired just 20 aides and there’s no official headquarters. The liberal Politico, founded by two former Washington Post reporters, doesn’t think that’s a good sign.
“Biden’s approach, while designed to save money, carries the risk of keeping his approval ratings at the low level where they are today. It also could limit his ability to better define the contours of the campaign at a time when the Republican field is bludgeoning each other in their own primary”, the outlet noted.
Curl added he believes Biden will drop out and California Gov. Gavin Newsom will toss his hat into the ring.
“And the reason Biden is running a ‘bargain-basement’ campaign is because he’s not really running. He’s not even shuffling”, Curl wrote.
