Questions about President Joe Biden’s age and his ability to weather the rigors of another presidential campaign and four more years in the White House are starting to bubble up into mainstream news outlets.
Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that a growing number of Democrats are starting to grow concerned about Biden in part due to his age.
And on Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) squirmed as she declined to say whether she would endorse the president in 2024.
Now the question of the president’s ability to run for a second term is bleeding over into CNN.
The network’s Don Lemon asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday night, “Does the president have the stamina, physically and mentally, do you think to continue on even after 2024?”
“Don! You’re asking this question? Oh my gosh. He’s the President of the United States. I can’t even keep up with him,” Jean-Pierre responded.
She insisted, “That is not a question that we should be even asking. Just look at the work that he does, look how he’s delivering for the American public.”
Finally, she argued that the Times’ article is just “hearsay” and “salacious.”
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The Times reports, “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.”
“Democrats in union meetings, the back rooms of Capitol Hill, and party gatherings from coast to coast are quietly worrying about Mr. Biden’s leadership, his age, and his capability to take the fight to former President Donald J. Trump a second time,” it added.
The paper noted that to “nearly all the Democrats interviewed,” Biden’s age, 79, is concerning as they point to his gaffes and remarks about foreign policy that have been walked back repeatedly.
David Axelrod, an adviser to former President Barack Obama noted that Biden would be “closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue.”
Perhaps Lemon was only asking this question simply because the Times’ story was getting attention.
But over the past couple of months, there have been several articles that have explored potential Democratic candidates for 2024, or indicated that members of his party are growing concerned about Biden and starting to look for alternatives.
It is possible that in the remainder of Biden’s first term, the COVID-19 pandemic will forever fade into the background, inflation and gas prices will come down, and the economy will be humming along, leading to a rebound in the president’s approval rating, and favorable political climate will emerge for him to win reelection.
For now, it appears Democrats are fretting about Biden being a drag on the party ahead of the midterms and worried that if things stay as they are or get worse, former President Donald Trump could walk back into the White House in the next presidential election.
And in light of those concerns, it appears that some Democrats are starting to try to pave the road to send Biden off to retirement after just four years in the White House.