President Joe Biden indicated this week that his primary motivation for seeking reelection in 2024 is to prevent former President Donald Trump from returning to the White House.
“If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden said during a campaign fundraiser event in Massachusetts on Tuesday as reported by Newsweek on Tuesday, November 5, 2023.
Throughout Biden’s campaign for a second term, the 81-year-old has faced persistent doubts and questions regarding his fitness and age for the presidency.
Polls have repeatedly shown voters voicing concerns about Biden’s capabilities as he would be 86 at the end of a potential second term.
However, Biden expressed Tuesday that he feels compelled to run again anyway due to the prospect of the 77-year-old Trump recapturing the presidency after his 2020 defeat.
“We cannot let him win for the sake of our country,” Biden said of the former president, who launched another bid for the Republican nomination in 2022.
Preventing Trump Return Biden’s “Number One Priority”
Advisers to the president have emphasized that denying Trump a presidential comeback is Biden’s “number one priority” in deciding to run again in 2024.
“The president has been clear that ensuring President Trump is not once again able to get near the Oval Office is one of his top priorities, as it should be for anyone who cares about the survival of American democracy,” said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates this April.
Throughout Biden’s first two years in office, he has repeatedly portrayed the next presidential election as a battle “for the soul of America,” referring to the threat he believes Trump poses to democracy itself.
However, recent 2024 election polling has shown Trump leading Biden in hypothetical head-to-head matchups.
A Messenger/Harris poll from Tuesday found Trump with a 7 percentage point advantage over Biden among registered voters.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2.
Additionally concerning for Biden was that the poll showed 51-year-old Republican candidate Nikki Haley with a 4 point lead over the president.
Biden’s chances for reelection are also being hampered by declining support from key groups like young voters and independents.
Over the past two years, the president has lost significant backing from voters under 30, with polls showing a majority now disapproving of his job performance after supporting him over Trump in 2020.
Additionally, independent voters have been shifting toward Trump, with multiple recent surveys finding the Republican leading Biden among this crucial swing bloc.
Unlike Biden, who has held off on an official reelection announcement, Trump wasted no time kicking off another aggressive campaign for the White House after the 2022 midterms.
The former president has been actively stumping in early primary states and battlegrounds, attacking his successor and making the case for a second term in office.
Trump officially filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his 2024 candidacy on November 15, 2022, the first major contender to launch a campaign.
As Biden nears a final decision on reelection, which is expected in early 2023, the grueling two-year campaign against Trump will test the president’s energy levels and stamina.
Biden would be the oldest person ever elected to a second term if he runs again and wins.
The 2024 race comes as Biden’s approval ratings have plunged below 40% amid voter discontent with the economy, crime, and immigration.
