The announcement did not surprise anyone here, it had been months since the 46th president hinted that he would be a candidate for his succession. Certainly, the one who was already the oldest president ever elected had assured in 2020 that he would be the “president of the transition between generations” but the transition… will wait. If re-elected, Biden will be 86 at the end of his second term.
“I will obviously vote for him, sighs Ryan, a building manager in the Chelsea district of New York and a Democratic voter, but I would really have preferred someone younger. He is far from alone. The president’s age is his main weakness. According to a CNN poll, even Democrats who approve of his record did not want him to run again, by a large majority. Nationally, 70% of Americans believe he lacks the energy and mental acuity needed for a second term.
Biden cannot hide his age: he walks cautiously, he has moments of confusion, his speech, never exemplary, can be muddled… He is also the president who has given the fewest press conferences. But his doctors maintain that he is in good health and he displays extraordinary stamina for an octogenarian.
VIDEO. United States: Joe Biden announces his candidacy for re-election in 2024
As he recalls in his video, against a backdrop of images from the January 2021 assault on the Capitol, Biden intends to present himself as the bulwark of American freedoms, at a time when, he says, they are threatened by extremists. Republicans in many areas. “Our freedoms, there is nothing more important, nothing more sacred, he insists, protecting them will have been the work of my first term…”
No Democratic “heavyweight” intends to challenge him
Americans generally approve of his record abroad, apart of course from the calamitous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Its unifying role in the Western response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, its firmness in the face of China are hailed here. Economically, the results are mixed: the economy is running at full speed, yes, but the inflation rate had never been so high in forty years, until recent months, when it slowed down a little. Biden has also launched major reindustrialization and energy transition projects and he hopes to reap the rewards before the November 2024 election…
If Biden has a chance of winning, it is firstly because no Democratic “heavyweight” intends to challenge him, at least for the moment, which will avoid a fratricidal fight. To date, two minor Democratic candidates have declared themselves: Robert Kennedy Jr, a lawyer who is the son of the Minister of Justice assassinated in 1968. His name is mythical here but he is a controversial character, supporter of conspiracy theories. And Marianne Williamson, a “spiritual advisor” who had already applied four years ago.
And his chances will be even better if the 2024 election pits him against Donald Trump, which the White House clearly wants. The (bad) loser of 2020 has further cemented his grip on the Republican Party lately, despite, or thanks to, his legal troubles.
The most divisive politician of recent years is now leading in all polls among Republican voters but he caps at 37% of voting intentions in the opinion. His most dangerous rival for the Republican nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has no trouble recalling that he has not yet officially applied, but his rating has plummeted in a few weeks, following the assaults of Trump.
2023-04-25 23:30:25
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