If there’s one thing that is abundantly clear, it’s that Joe Biden is declining, and declining fast. Recent incidents have given the Democrats plenty of reason to be nervous that Biden doesn’t have the physical or mental chops to make it through the 2024 presidential race, and, according to reports, they’re actively looking for a Plan B.
According to CNN, Democrat insiders and donors have begun contacting potential successors to Joe Biden due to their concerns over the incumbent’s physical and cognitive decline.
“The conversations keep happening – quiet whispers on the sidelines of events, texts, emails, furtive phone calls – as top Democrats and donors reach out to those seen as possible replacement presidential candidates,” CNN reported Thursday. “Get ready, they urge, in conversations that aides to several of the people involved have described to CNN: Despite what he has said, despite the campaign that has been announced, President Joe Biden won’t actually be running for reelection.”
These insiders feel that time is running out and a new candidate (read: anyone but Kamala Harris) needs to take the reins before it’s too late.
Biden’s age and cognitive problems were an issue in 2020, but the left clearly had no problem running him then because it was significantly easier to hide him away during the pandemic. But now, multiple polls show both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis beating him in various scenarios, and it’s safe to say that as Biden’s problems get worse, both GOP contenders will perform even better against him. Plus, one can only imagine what shape Biden will be in a year from now — and what impact that will have on sway-able voters.
This is hardly the first time talk of a ticket shake-up has occurred. Earlier this month, Newsweek editor-at-large Tom Rogers argued that the best thing for the Democrats would be to get rid of Kamala Harris, not Joe Biden.
“The Democrats shouldn’t replace President Biden,” Rogers insists, “they should replace Vice President Kamala Harris, who is even more unpopular, and who would replace President Biden in the event of an unfortunate circumstance related to his age and capabilities.”
The main concern over Biden is that in another election that will be close, there is little room for error or slowing down, which makes Joe Biden a liability for the Democrats.
Related: Is a Shake Up of the Biden-Harris Ticket Coming?
“It’s a crapshoot, this election,” a senior Democrat told CNN, “and when it’s a crapshoot, you have to do everything possible. It cannot be done when the guy’s 80 years old and has his day job. People say you can have a Rose Garden strategy, but usually it’s because it’s a strategy, not because you don’t have a choice.”
Several senior Democratic advisers spoke anonymously with CNN in order to give their honest assessment of Biden’s reelection efforts. They expressed concern over the campaign’s slow pace, especially when he is not capitalizing on the advantage provided by the bitter Republican primary process.
“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.”
