‘I’m not sure I’d be running…,’ Joe Biden tells investors as 2024 presidential election gets closer
President Joe Biden has said that had Donald Trump not been running in next year’s election, he may have retired after a single term of office. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden told a group of Democratic donors in Boston, according to New York Post. “But we cannot let him win.”
President Joe Biden speaks during a reception at the White House ahead of the 46th Kennedy Center Honors gala, in Washington, U.S. December 3, 2023 (REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo)(REUTERS)
At 81, Biden is the oldest-ever president of the US. If he completes a full second term in January 2029, he would be 86.
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Biden is routinely highlighted for his repeated gaffes, sharing false memories or appearing confused at public events. Many critics have blamed his behaviour on his age.
In fact, Sharon Sweda, the leader of the Democratic Party in Lorain County in Ohio bluntly said that death is “imminent” for elderly people like Biden. “He is in a period of his life where passing and death is imminent,” Sweda said in September, according to Washington Post, adding that she “often” hears Democratic voters say they are concerned about Biden’s health.
“We are all on a ticking clock. But when you’re at his age or at Trump’s age, that clock is ticking a little faster, and that’s a concern for voters,” she said.
Another Democratic lawmaker said in the past that the possibility that Joe might secure the nomination and then have to drop out of the race is alarming. “The worst-case scenario is we get past the nominating process with President Biden as the nominee, and then he’s no longer able to continue on as the nominee,” the lawmaker said. “That’s the nightmare scenario for Democrats.”
Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville had raised his concerns too, saying, “The voters don’t want this, and that’s in poll after poll after poll. You can’t look at what you look at and not feel some apprehension here.”
Meanwhile, many polls show Trump, 77, beating Biden. The RealClearPolitics average of recent national polls revealed that Trump has 46.7% support while Biden has 44.7%. New York Times released swing-state polling last month, which, too, revealed that Trump is ahead of Biden in various states, including Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Despite Trump having an edge, however, he has several criminal cases against him that he is due to stand trials in.
