Biden is perhaps his own greatest opponent
His main opponent may see Biden when he looks in the mirror. The number of Americans who are positive about his policies is already fluctuating months around 40 percent.
The main criticism is that Biden is too old. If he gets a second term, he will be 82 years old when he starts it. Biden is already the oldest president the US has ever had. The question is whether he can keep it up mentally and physically for a longer period of time.
Biden makes few speeches outside of the capital Washington and his home state of Delaware. It was easy to do that during the previous elections and at the start of his term. Due to the corona measures, public appearances were limited to a minimum. The upcoming campaign will require Biden to travel across the country to sell the success of his policy.
That offers more risks to one of his now characteristic slips of the tongue. Biden often makes clumsy statements, mixes up information and sometimes makes a confused impression during performances. He has been known for that throughout his political career, so it has little to do with his age.
Biden is not the senile senior citizen that right-wing commentators claim he is. But he certainly doesn’t have the sharpness and energy he once had. A president is constantly under a magnifying glass. Each slip provides opponents with ammunition.
Sitting president may no longer have an advantage
American presidents are often successful when they run for re-election. In the last 100 years, it failed four times: Herbert Hoover in 1932, Jimmy Carter in 1980, George HW Bush in 1992, and Donald Trump in 2020.
What all those failed re-election campaigns had in common was a bad economy. A sitting president is mainly judged by the American voter on the state of the economy.
Particularly due to the war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the corona pandemic, the US economy is in dire straits. Because of the war, gasoline prices rose to record highs. In a car country like the US, this is immediately felt by citizens.
Due to the high inflation, more and more people are struggling to make ends meet. Especially now that there are no more corona support packages. Bloomberg reported at the end of March that the chance of a contraction of the US economy will only increase in the near future.
It always leads to voters’ dissatisfaction with the president when their wallets are hit. Only three presidents were less popular than Biden when they announced their re-election: Carter, Ronald Reagan and Trump. Only Reagan overcame that lack of popularity and won a second term.
Democratic resignation instead of enthusiasm
Biden’s announcement was met with somewhat lukewarm reception from his Democratic party peers. Lots of Democrats too find Biden too old. But since there is no suitable alternative, acquiesce them in the choice for him.
There is simply no Democrat right now who is sure to do better than an incumbent president who has already beaten Trump once. But that doesn’t mean Democrats are all behind Biden.
So far, apart from Biden, only Robert F. Kennedy (yes, John F. Kennedy’s nephew) and Marianne Williamson have run for office. They have according to the polls both don’t stand a chance against Biden.
Many thought Vice President Kamala Harris was being groomed to become Biden’s successor. But for now she has to settle for the prospect of being his right-hand man for another four years.
Biden versus Trump, round two
Republicans have openly declared war on Biden and his policies several times. A return of the scandal, lawsuits and indictments overloaded Trump is a serious option. He ran again last November.
Trump’s recent arrest has further strained relations within the Republican Party. Yet Trump is still seen by many Republicans as their best shot at winning the White House recapture. Despite everything, he is proudly leading in the polls.
Only Ron DeSantis comes close to Trump. The governor of Florida has had to give up ground in recent weeks in the polls. Other candidates such as Nikki Haley and Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence seem to have no chance in advance.
The American voter stands not to jump for a second round of Biden versus Trump. But as it stands now, that’s the most likely scenario.
2023-04-26 18:21:00
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