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Dems Still Pushing for Michelle Obama to Become Party’s 2024 Nominee

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Some Democrats are still pushing for former First Lady Michelle Obama to step into the void and run for the party’s presidential nomination next year if President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris don’t, claiming she has what it takes to win, according to Fox News.

Although Democratic leaders are publicly endorsing Joe Biden as their nominee for the 2024 presidential election, there are ongoing discussions among Democrats about who would be the best leader to defeat former President Donald Trump in a potential face-off.

Douglas MacKinnon, a former White House and Pentagon official, suggested that if neither Biden nor Harris were chosen, Democrats could turn to a past superstar to create a stronger ticket, the outlet reported.

One of the names that came up as a potential contender during the previous Democratic presidential primary was the former first lady.

However, despite her “it” factor and being 59 years old, she has consistently denied any interest in running for office. Nonetheless, some Democrats may still consider urging her to enter the race.

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A Politico article published recently suggests that some “high-level Democrats” harbor doubts about Biden and may only be supporting him out of fear of what the party’s ticket would look like without him.

“High-level Democrats are rallying to President Biden’s reelection, not because they think it’s in the best interest of the country to have an 82-year-old start a second term but because they fear the potential alternative: the nomination of Kamala Harris and election of Donald Trump,” the report read.

In the 2020 presidential election, Biden and Harris reportedly broke records by receiving more votes than any other ticket in U.S. history, defeating then-President Donald Trump. However, three years later, Biden’s approval rating has fallen to the 40s, and his frequent verbal missteps have caused headaches for the White House press team, Fox News noted.

According to the Politico report, a senator who attended the National Governor’s Association meeting in February even went so far as to question whether Biden had the stamina to endure a presidential campaign season. It should be noted that Biden won his initial election during the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely restricted travel, and he spent much of his time campaigning from his basement.

At the same NGA winter meeting, a congressman “said Harris wasn’t an option,” Politico noted.

Myra Adams, an opinion contributor for The Hill, also said last month she believes that the Democrats’ best chance for winning in 2024 is Michelle O.

“As of this writing, a 2024 run by Mrs. Obama has been characterized as a baseless rumor, injecting fear into Republicans’ bloodstreams to help fundraising. For years Obama has consistently rejected the prospect. During a 2018 interview, when asked about a 2020 run, she famously said, ‘first of all, you have to want the job,’ the implication being that she didn’t want the job,” Adams wrote.

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“Still, Democrats in 2023 might be desperate enough for party leaders to encourage Mrs. Obama into considering the job. This group could argue that ‘your party and country need you’ to stop either Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — which could appeal to her patriotism and become her game-changing reason,” she added.

When Adams told one prominent Republican activist that she was penning this opinion piece he responded with, “God help us. She could beat any of our candidates. It’s a good thing she doesn’t want to run.”

Adams also said that if Biden decided not to campaign that the former first lady would annihilate a Democrat field, believing that even Harris would not want to take her on.

She also argued that Obama would attract crowds that are similar to the ones Trump used to attract as her popularity is incredibly high.

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But in November, in an interview with Naga Munchetty on BBC Breakfast, the former first lady said she “detests” being asked whether she would ever consider running for the top position herself.

“No,” Michelle Obama said before the host moved on.

Possible candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination could include previous nominees such as Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, or Al Gore, which would set up a rematch between Clinton and Trump. However, some voters’ concerns about having an older president would not be addressed by these hypothetical candidates, as Clinton is 75, Kerry is 79, and Gore is 74, Fox News added.

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