Maintaining that extremist Republicans are trying to take away rights and dividing the country and that the battle is still on for the soul of the country, President Joseph Biden formally announced his intention to seek a second term in office. While the Democrats may be relieved that the dithering is finally over, it raises apprehensions on whether the already oldest American President will have the physical stamina to go through the stress — first through the election season and, if elected, for another four years.

Almost any poll these days in the US has one major takeaway for the current occupant of the White House — that he should not be in the fray for the 2024 Presidential election. But President Biden has announced that he would have to be faced down by a Republican opponent; and this is assuming that another Democrat does not challenge Biden in the primaries and overwhelm him at the National Convention in Chicago in August 2024.

The problem for Biden is that 70 per cent of Americans, according to a latest NBC poll, believe he should not be on the ballot. The bigger headache for the President is within his own party: 51 per cent say that they do not wish to see him leading the ticket, with 48 per cent citing age as the “major” reason.

Other surveys have shown independent Democrats, progressives and left-leanings are pulling away from Biden. And the real kicker: 90 per cent of Democrats under 30 do not want Biden for 2024.

For most Americans and Democrats, Biden’s age is one of the chief considerations: he will be 82 by the time of the next inaugural, should he win; and 86 when he steps down at the end of his second term. The President and his entourage may think otherwise but the gaffe prone Biden gives the jitters to hardcore Democrats. Remember the fun President Ronald Reagan had with Democratic opponent Walter Mondale in 1984 over the “youth” factor?

Tired of both

There is only one thing that Biden and the former president Donald Trump have in common: a majority of Americans do not wish to see either of them on the ballot in November 2024. In the case of Trump, it has to do with a country and a Grand Old Party that is simply tired of the bizarre re-runs of conspiracy and whacky theories of a stolen 2020 election that have been laughed out of court. A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll showed a 38 per cent plurality of respondents feeling “exhaustion” over a Trump-Biden re-match.

Politically, it would seem that at least the Republicans have a choice: Trump is still ahead of the pack with at least a 15 point difference over the Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis; former Vice President Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson are all in single digits and showing little signs of moving up the ratings chart. And others like the Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu have yet to make their formal announcements. And with the exception of Trump, none of the Republican candidates has to worry about the age factor which would give the Biden camp something to think about.

Ironic as it may seem, for all the revulsion that Biden and Democrats may have against the 45th President, it is actually a Trump-Biden face-off that may unite Democrats and give the much-needed win for the Biden-Harris ticket. But this on the assumption that the Grand Old Party rallies behind Trump, which is not a certainty at this time. And for a person known for retaliation, Trump could decide to run as an Independent in the absence of an endorsement from the GOP, which would tilt the scales in favour of Biden.

The re-election announcement may have been sans fanfare but it certainly gives both Biden and Democrats a lot to think about. President Biden would first have to look within the party and try to shore up the young and women voters especially from African Americans and Hispanics, retain the thin majorities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania, not to forget the huge chunk of Independents and Progressives.

The writer is a senior journalist

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