Incumbent President Joe Biden may very well be on his way out of the White House, but the notorious hothead sure seems to be taking the path of most resistance doing so.
By virtually any metric, poll, or shred of public sentiment, Biden just hasn’t been doing well as president (or father, or grandfather) — and his re-election bid may be doing even worse.
Despite being the incumbent president during a time when America is effectively engaged in proxy armed conflicts (a highly re-electable environment) Biden has seen the head-to-head polling with former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner to emerge from the GOP primary, swing in his predecessor’s favor.
It’s bad enough where even Democrats and Biden’s inner circle are beginning to doubt the president’s ability to make it through a second general election, let alone a second term that would see Biden at a ripe 86 years old should he see it through fully.
If Biden were a more humble man, he would relinquish his tenuous grip on power and allow his party to nominate a more long-term figurehead, but there’s ample evidence at this point that Biden is more hot-headed than humble.
And that notorious temper is reportedly helping Biden do an exceptional job of alienating people and losing friends.
On Monday, Politico Magazine put out a blistering article noting a number of brutal challenges the president faces on the road to a second term.
The article ultimately tried to strike a hopeful tone for Democrats, but reading between the lines, it’s hard not to walk away from the article without likening Biden to a man who knows the gig is up.
Chief among those damning examples, the Politico report included an interesting tidbit about how Biden reacted to former President Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod’s public doubting of his re-election hopes.
Tucked away in the article, it’s noted that Biden reportedly called Axelrod a “p***k” for publicly doubting him.
Here’s a sampling of Axelrod publicly doubting Biden (though stopping just short of saying Biden should pull out):
It’s very late to change horses; a lot will happen in the next year that no one can predict & Biden’s team says his resolve to run is firm.
He’s defied CW before but this will send tremors of doubt thru the party–not “bed-wetting,” but legitimate concern. https://t.co/g6zeWF0T87— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 5, 2023
“It’s very late to change horses; a lot will happen in the next year that no one can predict & Biden’s team says his resolve to run is firm,” Axelrod posted to X on Nov. 5. “He’s defied CW before but this will send tremors of doubt thru the party–not ‘bed-wetting,’ but legitimate concern.”
In that same thread, Axelrod astutely pointed out that Biden’s relatively advanced age, a problem that will literally only get worse with the passage of time, is a legitimate hurdle:
The greatest concern is that his biggest liability is the one thing he can’t change. Among all the unpredictables there is one thing that is sure: the age arrow only points in one direction.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 5, 2023
Axelrod wrote: “The greatest concern is that his biggest liability is the one thing he can’t change. Among all the unpredictables there is one thing that is sure: the age arrow only points in one direction.”
After attacking Trump, Axelrod again posited the possibility of Biden pulling out of politics for good.
Only @JoeBiden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 5, 2023
Axelrod, for whatever faults the architect of Obama’s two presidential terms has, raises legitimate, uncomfortable issues that Biden, his team and his party will have to address sooner than later.
And Biden’s reported response to those tough questions was to use a vulgarity.
Fitting, given his history, but not an altogether productive answer.
The president may be able to bury his face into the pillow and yell curse words until he’s blue in the face (actually, at his age, that’s probably a terrible idea)… but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s got a Sisyphean task ahead of him and no amount of cursing will change that fact.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.