Former Labor Secretary for Bill Clinton has joined a growing chorus of Democrats encouraging their party to elect someone other than Joe Biden as President in 2024.
From 1993 to 1997, Robert Reich was a member of Bill Clinton’s Cabinet. On Sunday, he published a forthright op-ed in The Guardian with the title, “As a 76-year-old let me say: Joe Biden is too old to run again.”
Regarding a second term for the 79-year-old president, he remarked, “It’s not death that’s the scary thing.”
Age-related decline in abilities is what causes this.
The president would break the record for the oldest person ever sworn in if he bids for and is elected to a second term at close to 82 years old.
In his op-ed, Reich acknowledged that the president has appeared to avoid some signs of aging, such as height loss, and that flying in the Air Force One is probably less taxing on him than regular commercial air travel would be.
The former Clinton official speculates, however, that he might not have managed to avoid a progressive loss of energy, patience, and memory.
‘Biden’s secret service detail can worry about his wallet, and he’s got a teleprompter for wayward nouns, but I’m sure he’s experiencing some diminution in the memory department,’ Reich wrote.
He later added, ‘I’m also noticing less patience, perhaps because of an unconscious “use by” timer now clicking away. I’m less tolerant of long waiting lines, automated phone menus, and Republicans.’
‘How the hell does Biden maintain tact or patience when he has to deal with Joe Manchin?’
Reich concluded the scorching piece by claiming members of his generation of all parties – ‘including Bill and Hillary, George W, Trump, Newt Gingrich, Clarence Thomas, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Biden’ – had ‘f***ed it up royally.’
‘The world will probably be better without us. Joe, please don’t run,’ he wrote.
Prior to joining the Obama transition team in 2008, the Clinton official collaborated with Biden as an economic advisor.
He is now the most prominent Democrat to express uncertainty about Biden seeking a second term, something the president has promised to do.
In a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted last week, more over 60 percent of Democratic voters said they would prefer a different candidate to Biden to run for president in 2024.
In the present, Reich published an opinion piece titled, “As a 76-year-old, let me say: Joe Biden is too old to run again.”
And last month, when Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refrained from stating that she would unambiguously back Vice President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, the inter-party leadership gap was clearly on display.
‘We should endorse when we get to it, but I believe that the President’s been doing a very good job so far, and, you know, should he run again, I think that I, you know, I think…we’ll take a look at it,’ the New York Democrat told CNN’s State of the Union.
A new poll conducted by CNN/SSRS and released on Monday indicates that Biden’s support among probable US voters is at an all-time low.
Only 38% of respondents stated they approve of the president’s role as president, while 62% disagreed.
Only 25% of those polled say they approve of the president’s handling of inflation.
The survey, which was conducted from June 13 to July 13, was published soon after the shocking release of the CPI report, which revealed that the cost of commodities rose by 9.1 percent last month compared to the same month the previous year. Since 1981, it was the biggest increase.
Americans’ dissatisfaction appears to extend to the country as a whole – the CNN poll found that 79 percent of people believe things are going badly for the US, a level not seen since February 2009, during the Great Recession.
The Monday poll reveals that Biden is losing ground with voters on a number of important subjects, with approval ratings for his handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, US immigration, inflation, and the economy all above 50%.
Only 31% of respondents said they think the president “has had the appropriate objectives.” In November 2018, August, and September of 2017, as well as November 2018, a smaller percentage of people had the same sentiment towards Donald Trump.
68 percent of respondents claimed Biden is not paying attention to the biggest issues facing the country.
The horrifying reply demonstrates that voters have not yet taken Biden’s promise to combat inflation with a “laser focus.” Americans appear to be dubious about how much of an impact he is having, according to the poll.
One-third of people continue to support Biden’s management of the economy, while 69% said the contrary.
As the midterm elections in November get near, the Democrat’s popularity with people becomes more and more important since his party confronts a difficult battle to maintain their slim Congressional majority.
The poll conducted on Monday, however, indicates that these chances are dwindling. Even though it is still high, 73 percent of Democrats now approve of Biden, down 13 points from the latest CNN poll conducted in April and May.