OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden ignited a firestorm on social media Thursday after he appeared to nibble on the shoulder of a little girl in Helinski, Finland.
In the video, Biden can be seen stooping over a little child whose mother is holding her. Biden seemed to constantly nip at the girl’s shoulder with his tongue. The girl can be seen backing away while appearing alarmed by his behavior.
The mother appeared to laugh at the incident and then tried to take a selfie with the president. As she did, Biden started to approach the little girl a second time with his mouth and she turned her head away.
The incident happened when Biden greeted families at Helsinki-Vantaan International Airport before boarding Air Force One.
WATCH:
WATCH: President Biden nibbles at young child in Finland
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 14, 2023
As the country inches closer to the 2024 presidential primary cycle, a growing number of reports suggest that the aging Biden may not actually be his party’s choice to run against what increasingly looks to be a rematch against former President Donald Trump.
CNN reported Thursday that the “top Democrats and donors” are reaching out to “possible replacements” for Biden and have had conversations about having one of them get into the race as the president continues to struggle physically and cognitively.
Several polls have indicated that Biden faces difficulties when pitted against the leading Republican presidential contenders, namely Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Individuals making calls to potential Democratic candidates are informing them that, contrary to Biden’s public statements and his campaign launch, the 80-year-old president does not intend to pursue re-election.
“Biden’s team pushed back, saying that he was absolutely running and that he was taking campaign preparations seriously,” the Daily Wire noted.
But, CNN noted, “Some things are already clear: multiple big donors aren’t locking in. Grassroots emails are sometimes bringing in just a few thousand dollars.”
In a closely contested race that is anticipated to be decided by a narrow margin in a handful of states, skeptics contend that each day without a busy campaign schedule will reinforce voters’ concerns about Biden’s age. They argue that this might indicate a lack of seriousness from the president and those around him regarding the potential of losing to Trump or another Republican candidate, potentially leading to a sense of déjà vu from the 2016 election on Election Night next year, CNN noted.
“If Trump wins next November and everyone says, ‘How did that happen,’ one of the questions will be: what was the Biden campaign doing in the summer of 2023?” a person who worked in a senior role on Biden’s 2020 campaign told CNN on condition of anonymity.
“I’m not sure which is harder: Getting people to focus on the campaign, or getting people excited about it,” a longtime Democratic fundraiser added.
CNN added:
Though people around Biden still believe that Trump’s continued lead in the GOP primary polls sets up a stark contrast that will be helpful for the president, they are privately much more concerned with the possibility of losing to the former president than they tend to let on. His campaign planning is kept very closely held – and still almost entirely run out of the West Wing, so much so that the president himself has asked to meet personally with finalists for senior roles, all of which is slowing nearly every decision.
Biden advisers have told allies they are following a tight, purposeful strategy that takes into account the vulnerabilities they recognize their candidate has, the strengths of his record they think they can tap into, and the particularities of America heading into 2024.
“The most important power of incumbency is taking time to plan and build your campaign while your challenger is busy with a primary,” a Democratic campaign veteran told CNN. “They are late in doing everything, and everyone knows it.”
