Nearly a year into the Joe Biden presidency, enthusiasm has reached such a nadir that former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) has suggested the aging politician may not seek reelection come 2024.
Speaking with the New York Times about the Biden administration’s efforts to bolster Vice President Kamala Harris’s approval, Dodd, who worked alongside Joe Biden in the Senate for 28 years and who served as a member of the Biden campaign vice-presidential search committee, said that the president “might not” seek reelection.
“I’m hoping the president runs for re-election,” Dodd said. “But for whatever reason that might not be the case, it’s hard to believe there would be a short list without Kamala’s name on it. She’s the vice president of the United States.”
Should Joe Biden – whose approval rating now stands at 37.8 percent according to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll – not seek reelection in 2024, the Democrats would have an uphill battle in selecting a candidate that could retain the White House, given that Vice President Kamala Harris has an even lower approval rating at 27.8 percent.
“Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval rating is 28% – even worse than Biden’s,” USA Today’s Susan Page and Rick Rouan wrote. “The poll shows that 51% disapprove of the job she’s doing. One in five, 21%, are undecided.”
The poll also showed that if an election were held today, former President Trump would beat Biden handily.
“If the presidential election were today between Biden and Trump, 44% say, they would vote for Trump, 40% for Biden, 11% for an unnamed third-party candidate. In the election last year, Biden beat Trump 54%-47%,” Page and Rouan wrote.
Despite former Sen. Chris Dodd’s doubts, President Biden, who will turn 79 this month, said he plans to run for reelection earlier this year.
“My plan is to run for reelection. That’s my expectation,” Biden said in March.
“I said, ‘That is my expectation,’” he added. “I’m a great respecter of fate. I’ve never been able to plan four-and-a-half, three-and-a-half years ahead for certain.”
However, in an op-ed for The Hill, Myra Adams wrote that Biden’s pledge to run for reelection may have been premature, lamenting that Biden has to make a decision soon as to when he will officially announce his decision to duck out of the 2024 election.
“The earlier Biden announces his lame-duck status, the more his power decreases, reflecting the aura of a failed presidency,” wrote Adams. “More consequential is the national security perspective if enemies think a ‘defeated’ Biden signals an opportune time for aggression.”
“The longer Biden delays his announcement, the more those seeking the nomination will be handicapped. Nearly two years are needed for an organizational build-up to raise the megamillions of dollars required to wage a successful presidential primary campaign,” continued Adams.
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