The 2024 presidential election is still nearly 700 days away, but a grassroots group has a three-word message for President Biden: “Don’t Run, Joe.”
A new minute-long ad from RootsAction, which describes itself on its Twitter page as a “progressive group that helped defeat Trump,” aired this week in New Hampshire. The spot features real voters explaining why they don’t want Biden, 80, to run again.
“We can’t afford to risk the White House to a Republican who could defeat Status Quo Joe,” said one New Hampshire voter as images on the screen showed former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, often mentioned as a frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2024.
“I’m concerned with Joe Biden’s low polling,” said another voter.
Another said with Biden’s “low popularity, he’s way too much of a gamble.” And yet another said, “If he runs, the election is at serious risk.”
And one more says, “Our ideas are way more popular than Joe Biden is.”
The ad is, of course, spot on. Pollsters with the CNBC All-America Economic Survey last week asked if Biden should run again and 70% said no — just 19% want him to go again.
When broken down by party, a majority of Democrats (57%) said “Don’t Run, Joe,” along with 66% of independents.
The poll found that 47% of those who don’t think Biden should run cited age as a major reason, including 61% of Democrats and 66% of seniors, CNBC reported. The younger set was different: just 43% of the 18-49 demographic group cite age as a major reason for Biden, 80, not to run.
Biden, whose job approval numbers teeter in the mid-30s, has “vented to allies” about all the talk surrounding his age and the election, according to a report.
“You think I don’t know how f***ing old I am?” a grumpy Biden said earlier this year, Politico reported.
The CNBC poll didn’t bring better news for former President Donald Trump: 61% of the public thinks Trump should not run again (even though he has already announced his bid). In addition, 37% of Republicans don’t want him to run again; 61% of independents and 88% of Democrats agree.
Norman Solomon, a joint founder of RootsAction, said Biden should “heed the voters of his party rather than simply declaring ‘Watch me run for re-election.’”
“His public approval ratings remain dismal, as they have been all year,” Solomon said in a statement on Twitter. “No amount of bravado from the White House can change the severe vulnerabilities that a Biden 2024 campaign would face.”
Biden also isn’t faring too well with the bookies — who, unlike pollsters, actually put their money where their mouths are.
“Biden’s crushed approval ratings and worsening betting odds are causing Democrats to wonder if he is the right figure to take on Trump in 2024,” said Joe Short of Gambling.com. “According to the Wall Street Journal, Democrats expect him to go for a second term at the age of 82, but they’re not sure he should.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.