At least two establishment media outlets on Thursday questioned President Joe Biden’s 2024 viability due to his advanced age and continuous blunders.
The issues were raised on the same day the president will undergo a physical examination, as Breitbart News reported.
As rumors swirl Biden will launch a reelection campaign in April, the media appear to be taking the position Biden’s age and mental acuity could impact his chances of defeating the GOP nominee. One outlet phrased the White House’s attempt to play down the dilemma as a balancing act.
“That is leading to a focus on events that try to play up the president’s vitality, while trying to strike a balance in the schedule of a man who tends to make more blunders when tired,” CNN’s and wrote.
Biden, who is the oldest president in U.S. history at age 80, would remain so if he won reelection in 2024. If he runs for reelection and wins, he will be 86 by the end of his second term.
Many in the Democrat apparatus are privately worried the party is dismissing the dilemma and “looking ahead” to the nomination. “To many top Democratic operatives and officials looking ahead, Biden’s age is the top issue of his reelection campaign,” the CNN article warned.
Biden has pushed back on claims he is too old and unhealthy. In October, Biden vowed his mental ability and physical energy are perfectly fine. “I’m in good health. All my, everything physically about me is still functioning well, so you know, and mentally too,” Biden said.
But not all Democrat lawmakers agree. According to Politico Magazine‘s Johnathan Martin, Democrats are worried about Biden’s ability to win reelection and lead the Democrat Party to victory.
“Nobody wants to be the one to do something that would undermine the chances of a Democratic victory in 2024,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) told Martin. “Yet in quiet rooms the conversation is just the opposite — we could be at a higher risk if this path is cleared.”
A second lawmaker allegedly explained Biden should celebrate defeating former President Donald Trump in 2020 and ride off into the sunset with a so-called moral victory.
“[A] Democratic lawmaker who recalled speaking to Jill Biden and, hoping to plant a seed about a one-term declaration of victory, told her how her husband should be celebrated for saving democracy,” Martin recounted.
The lawmakers’ concerns are echoed by focus groups and polling where CNN reported Biden’s age is “constantly” brought up.
“Many veer toward assuming he must be ineffective or being puppeteered: ‘brain dead,’ ‘mush’ – ‘dementia’ is a word that comes up all the time,” one individual with knowledge of focus groups sessions said.