Less than a month ago, Joe Biden announced his 2024 presidential campaign, ending pretty much two-and-a-half years of speculation as to whether he would dare to ask the voters for another four years in office, despite polls indicating that many Americans consider Biden too old and mentally unfit for the presidency. Opting not to run would have been understandable, even within his own political party.
Although the Democratic field of candidates may not have been exceptionally strong, Democratic primary voters would have welcomed the opportunity to nominate a fresh face — anyone else with the mere ability to meet the demands of a presidential campaign — in order to increase the party’s chances of fielding a candidate capable of handling the challenges ahead.
Soon after his announcement, polls showed that his approval ratings were at an all-time low, and he lags behind both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in head-to-head general election match-ups. If there was ever a time for Ol’ Joe to step up and prove the naysayers wrong about his physical and mental fitness, now would be the time.
Except, that’s not what he’s doing.
Right in the thick of debt ceiling negotiations and the expiration of Title 42, which led to an unprecedented crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, Joe Biden spent the weekend at the beach.
“The President will travel from Dover Air Force Base en route to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware,” the White House announced on Friday.
Already known for taking more time away from Washington than any other president, Biden’s failure to be present during a rather critical moment in our nation’s history hardly gives Americans — particularly swayable voters — confidence that Joe Biden can even handle the presidency today, let alone a year or four from now. Adding insult to injury, when Biden was asked about the ongoing crisis at the border on Sunday, he just laughed.
“How do you think things are going at the border?”
BIDEN: “Much better than you all expected. Ha ha ha.”
“Do you have any plans to visit the border?”
BIDEN: “No” pic.twitter.com/nJV3HXd4ut
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 15, 2023
Biden is set to return to the White House on Monday afternoon and is expected to hold a meeting with congressional leaders to discuss the debt limit on Tuesday in a meeting that had been originally planned for Friday but had to be rescheduled for Biden’s beach getaway. Does this look like the actions of a man who really wants to be president for another term? It certainly doesn’t look that way to me, and it’s hard to accept the idea that his handlers honestly believe this helps him either.
So I ask, with all due respect, is Biden really going to make it to Election Day? There seems to be no legitimate effort to boost him at a time he’s particularly vulnerable. We have serious challenges facing the country right now, and Biden is being sent off to the beach to recharge. Would any political consultant agree that these are the optics you want while making the case to the American people to vote for you? I don’t see it.
I don’t doubt that Biden’s inner circle believes he’s the best chance Democrats have at holding on to the White House in 2024, but recent events suggest that this is a huge gamble, and Biden is making it increasingly difficult to ignore questions about his physical and mental fitness.