(FiveNation.com)- Despite having absolute horrible approval ratings, President Joe Biden is apparently planning to run for re-election in 2024.
Two different sources told media outlet The Hill that Biden recently told his former boss, Barack Obama, that he’ll run again in two years. Biden has spoken about running for re-election publicly before, but this is a solid indication that he indeed plans to try to seek a second term in the White House.
While speaking in Brussels at a press conference in March, Biden said he’d consider himself “very fortunate” if he were able to run in 2024 against his rival from the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump.
One of the sources who was familiar with the conversation that took place between Biden and Obama recently commented:
“[Biden] wants to run and he’s clearly letting everyone know.”
According to this same source, there’s a lot of belief that, even though the American public doesn’t look too favorably at Biden as a president, he remains the most likely candidate from the Democratic side who could defeat Trump.
In fact, this is a big reason why many Democratic primary voters rallied behind Biden from Super Tuesday on during the last primary season in 2020 — because they believed Biden gave Democrats the best chance to unseat Trump, which he did.
The same source told The Hill of Biden:
“I believe he thinks he’s the only one who can beat Trump. I don’t think he thinks there’s anyone in the Democratic Party who can beat Trump, and that’s the biggest factor.”
In other words, it’s possible that if Biden had confidence in another potential Democratic candidate’s ability to beat Trump, he might step aside and only serve one term in the White House voluntarily.
What does that say about the state of the Democratic Party?
It’s possible that if Trump were to run again in 2024, some potential Democratic hopefuls would not run — either out of fear they’d lose or not wanting to put up with being attacked by Trump.
For his part, Trump hasn’t announced his own political intentions for the 2024 presidential race. That being said, there have been plenty of indications that Trump is indeed building up for another run at the White House in two more years. It’s expected that he’ll officially announce his intentions after the midterm elections later this year.
There are many questions about Biden’s viability as a candidate in two more years. Biden already set a record by being the oldest president on record when he took office at 78 years old in 2021. If he were to win a second term, that would start when he’s 82 years old.
In addition to his age, there are concerns about his likeability. A survey released last week by CNBC found only 38% of likely American voters approve of the job Biden is doing in the White House, compared to 53% who disapprove.
That’s a high mountain to climb, and there’s still two years to go before the middle of the primary season for the 2024 presidential election.
