OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Townhall Editor and Fox News contributor Guy Benson argued this week that he does not believe President Joe Biden can run for re-election.
During a segment on “Special Report,” Benson reacted to Democratic voices who have quietly said Biden should not run for re-election in 2024.
“This story you are referencing in the New York Times is long, and it quotes a lot of people on the record, and quite a few people on background with these rumors starting to swirl and grow louder, that there are people starting to actually articulate, not just at dinner party conversations, but within the halls and quarters of power, that they are very concerned about Joe Biden’s ability to lead that party into the next presidential election,” Benson said.
“AOC [Alexandria Ocasio Cortez] was squirming over those questions. It’s all hypothetical, maybe we will cross the bridge if we come to it, but I’m still of the belief that he is not going to run again,” he added.
“I have no special knowledge of that, I just don’t think he can. I don’t know if he can do it physically, I don’t know if he can do it mentally, and I say that with respect. It’s a very taxing process. I’m not sure if there are many Democrats that you would talk to anywhere in the country, including in the White House in a true moment of quiet honesty who would say, ‘yes, this is going well, and we are confident about this man’s ability to be the standard-bearer again in a rough and tumble year-long presidential campaign.’ I think those noises are starting to gain more momentum if you will, even though we are not five months out from the midterm election people are looking ahead,” Benson concluded.
During an interview Sunday on CNN, New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would not commit to backing Biden in the 2024 presidential election, saying instead that “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
“I just want to ask about President Biden. He is saying he’s going to run again in 2024. Will you support him?” host Dana Bash asked.
“You know, if the president chooses to run again in 2024 — I mean, first of all, I’m focused on winning this majority right now and preserving a majority this year in 2022,” the representative said.
“So we will cross that bridge when we get to it. But I think, if the president has a vision, then that’s something certainly we’re all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes,” she said.
“That’s not a yes,” the host said.
“Yes, I think we should endorse when we get to it,” the representative said. “But I believe that the president has been doing a very good job so far. And should he run again, I think that — I think it’s — we will take a look at it. But, right now, we need to focus on winning a majority, instead of a presidential election,” she said.
"[Biden] is saying he's gonna run again in 2024. Will you support him?"
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: "We'll take a look at it. Ha ha ha." pic.twitter.com/ztJJe55vJv
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 12, 2022
And she is not the only Democrat with reservations about Biden.
Top members of the Democrat Party do not want Biden on the presidential ticket in 2024 because they do not believe he can be re-elected.
Republicans are expected to have massive victories in the 2022 midterms. Many Democratic figures and lawmakers (some on the condition of anonymity) spoke with the New York Times and expressed similar concerns.
Democratic National Committee member Steve Simeonidis said Biden should step aside and allow someone else to take the reigns in the 2024 election.
“To say our country was on the right track would flagrantly depart from reality,” he said to The Times. “[Biden] should announce his intent not to seek re-election in ’24 right after the midterms.”
“Democrats need fresh, bold leadership for the 2024 presidential race,” Shelia Huggins, a DNC member from North Carolina said. “That can’t be Biden.”
The majority of those who were interviewed expressed concerns about the president’s age, 79 right now and 82 in 2024.
“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,” David Axelrod, former President Obama’s chief strategist for both of his campaigns, said.
“Biden doesn’t get the credit he deserves for steering the country through the worst of the pandemic, passing historic legislation, pulling the NATO alliance together against Russian aggression, and restoring decency and decorum to the White House,” he said. “And part of the reason he doesn’t is performative. He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of a camera as he once was, and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality.”
