The Cry Grows Louder — Should Joe Biden Step Aside?
Author: Greg Valliere
September 14, 2023
ROMNEY WAS JUST AS BLUNT, declaring in his resignation announcement yesterday that it’s time for politicians of his age (76) to step down. He specifically said that Biden (80) and Donald Trump (77) should not run again.
IN BOTH PARTIES, THE FOCUS IS ON BIDEN: He looks and sounds frail, and his verbal gaffes have become so numerous that his staff tries to keep him out of public appearances. His comment at a press conference in Vietnam last week that “it’s time to go to bed” will be replayed over and over in next year’s election campaign.
DEMOCRATS IN THIS TOWN WORRY that Biden could lose to the very vulnerable Trump, who faces four individual trials and 91 indictments. Yet Trump is the overwhelming favorite to be the Republican nominee, and he leads slightly in some general election polls.
THE CRUCIAL ISSUE for the Democrats is that there’s no clear successor to Biden. Kamala Harris is widely viewed as a disappointment, the dynamic Gavin Newsom is considered too liberal for the country, and virtually no one has heard of most of the other potential candidates, including rising star Andy Beshear, the moderate governor of conservative Kentucky.
THE REPUBLICANS have a stronger bench, with relative youngsters Ron DeSantis (45) and Nikki Haley (51) and several young governors. But virtually all of them have pledged allegiance to Trump if he wins the nomination. Most Republicans pledge allegiance to Trump even if he’s in jail.
WHEREVER WE GO, PEOPLE ASK whether there’s a chance of a serious third party candidate. The answer is no — the filing deadlines are fast approaching and other than Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin or West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, it appears that neither party has a likely game changer. What about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? Be serious.
COULD TRUMP BE DENIED BALLOT ACCESS in the 2024 general election because of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits an insurrectionist from running? Legal scholars say it’s possible but we say it’s never going to happen.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE neither Biden nor Trump will heed the call from a growing percentage of Americans to step aside for the next generation. Wait until 2028 . . . .
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