Media questions Biden 2024 run as Democrats distance themselves from president
Media speculation about Biden's ability to run in 2024 mirrors Democrats who have expressed concern over his age and low approval numbers.
Four congressional Democrats anonymously told CNN that about half of Democrats in Congress would not support President Biden as the 2024 presidential nominee, the outlet reported on Monday.
"Four Democratic members of Congress, asking not to be named to speak candidly, estimated that at least half of their colleagues would pick someone other than Biden as their 2024 nominee – if they could vote by secret ballot," CNN's report read.
CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere wrote that the outlet spoke to 24 elected Democrats, officials and Biden aides.
Some officials felt more confident about running Biden in 2024 after the Democrats kept control of the Senate in the midterm elections.
President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before their meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
However, some Democrats they spoke too said they felt "uneasy" about the prospect of Biden facing off against a younger Republican opponent in 2024, such as Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.
The four congressional Democrats also told the outlet that if there were a follow-up question about who their ideal candidate might be, answers would be "all over the place."
Other Democrats said they would be surprised if the president didn't run again.
"What he did translated more with voters than favorability ratings, and that’s important for Democrats to remember as we go forward," Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C., told the outlet.
Gov. Roy Cooper appears before President Biden speaks at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University on April 14, 2022, in Greensboro. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
Democrats openly expressed concern for Biden's mental fitness ahead of the midterm elections.
"The presidency is a monstrously taxing job, and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue," Democratic strategist David Axelrod previously told the New York Times.
President Joe Biden speaks on COVID-19 during an event on the White House campus, Oct. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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"I think he’s the guy who can beat anybody," Democratic California Rep.-elect Robert Garcia told CNN. "Presidents get re-elected if they’re successful and if the American people want them back, and to me there is nothing in the president’s first two years that points to that he shouldn’t run again."
Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-N.H., told the outlet that running Biden would drive Republicans to vote for Donald Trump.
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