Progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declined to say whether she would support President Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election bid during a television interview Sunday.
The New York Democrat was grilled on the issue by CNN’s State of the Union host Dana Bash, but she didn’t give a straight answer, instead insisting she’s focused on the November midterm elections.
His friend and ally, Senator Chris Coons, said on Fox News Sunday that the 79-year-old president is “seeking a second term.”
But he already appears to be losing support from a growing faction of the Democratic Party, especially young people and progressives, who believe he is too old and out of touch to lead America today.
Ocasio-Cortez, a leader in the progressive movement, answered with an uncomfortable laugh when asked if she would stand behind Biden.
“You know, if the president chooses to run again in 2024 — I mean, first and foremost, I’m focused on winning that majority right now, and maintaining that majority this year into 2022,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
So we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I think if the President has a vision — that’s certainly something we’re all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes.
Bash noted: “This is not a yes”.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she would “take a look at it” when asked if she would endorse President Joe Biden to run in the 2024 presidential election.
Meanwhile, a growing number of Democrats worry about the president’s chances should he run for re-election
“Yeah, you know, I think we’ll have to agree when we get to that, but I think the president’s been doing a very good job so far,” offered the congressman.
However, she has gone so far as to say she will take a look at Biden’s bid when he formally announces his 2024 candidacy.
Ocasio-Cortez laughed.
“But right now, we need to focus on winning a majority, rather than a presidential election.”
Concerns about the health of President Joe Biden
Broken foot playing with dogs and pneumatic force on the plane
Biden was walking in a shoe after breaking his foot while playing with his dog, Major, in November 2020.
His doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement at the time that he would likely be asked to wear tall boots for several weeks.
However, Biden’s recovery appeared to be going well, and he was soon seen in public without the shoes on.
The president was then filmed falling three times as he boarded Air Force One in March 2021.
The president’s fall was blamed on “the breeze”, and he sustained no injuries.
He took Air Force One again last month.
High cholesterol and irregular pulse
In December 2019, there were concerns about Biden’s health, particularly ahead of the 2020 election.
He released medical records that showed he had an irregular heartbeat and high cholesterol, but described him as “healthy, active, 77-year-old”.
Some experts questioned whether or not he was as healthy as he claimed.
Tongue slices and fear of amnesia
Days before the election, he became flustered when he introduced his granddaughter Natalie at an event, instead referring to her as “My Son Bo”.
Beau Biden died in 2015 after suffering from a brain tumor.
He mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “boss” and incorrectly told US forces that they were going into Ukraine.
Last month, the president was photographed reaching out to shake no one’s hand during a speech in North Carolina as he strolled off the stage.
The congresswoman’s name has been floated several times as a potential Democratic contender for the presidency, though she remains three years shy of the minimum age requirement for the position.
On the other hand, a growing number of Democrats are speculating that Biden may be getting too old.
That also includes David Axelrod, former chief strategist to Barack Obama, who would have worked with Biden as the former vice president.
“The presidency is a very stressful job and the stark reality is that the president will be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that’s going to be a major issue,” said David Axelrod, a former Barack Obama campaign strategist. The New York Times In a report on Saturday.
The political veteran said Biden “isn’t getting the credit he deserves” for leading the country through the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which he attributes again to the president’s aging stature.
“He’s looking his age and he’s not as graceful in front of the camera as he used to be,” said Axelrod, “and that’s fed a narrative about competence not rooted in reality.”
Other Democrats have been more vocal about their doubts about Biden’s candidacy.
“Democrats need bold new leadership for the 2024 presidential race… It can’t be Biden,” said a Democratic National Committee member from North Carolina.
A Miami DNC member suggested that the president “should announce his intention not to seek re-election on the 24th immediately following the midterm elections.”
All 50 Democratic officials interviewed by The New York Times feared that Biden’s re-election campaign would not help their party against the Republicans, who are expected to score sweeping victories in the upcoming midterm elections.
While several Democrats interviewed, many of whom asked not to be named, expressed gratitude for Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in 2020, they said the problems facing the president’s administration dealt a major blow to his party.
Among the big issues are record high inflation that’s the highest in more than 40 years, soaring gas prices — which hit $5 a gallon on Saturday, a prolonged pandemic, and the prospect of an end to federal abortion rights as they come in the Supreme Court. Gearing up to end Rowe in Wade in the coming weeks.
Also hurting were Biden’s failure to pass the $1.8 trillion Reconstruction Better agenda and expanded voting rights, which faced opposition from his own party, and the US military’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan last summer.
The question remains about who will replace Biden in this deeply polarized political climate as Democrats fear Trump may launch his own campaign for 2024 re-election.
Few of those interviewed by the Times said they did not expect Vice President Kamala Harris to run.
Among the issues hampering Biden’s popularity are soaring gas prices, which averaged $5 a gallon nationally over the weekend.
Harris faced her failures in office, primarily through the crisis on the US-Mexico border despite her appointment as Border Czar.
Instead, several Democrats interviewed singled out US Senators Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, as well as US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke.
Fayez Shakir, Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign manager, said it would be better for a young Democrat to run.
Shakir told the Times that while he believes Biden could defeat Trump in a 2024 rematch, the outcome could be different if Republicans instead nominate a rising star in their party, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeAntis.
“If it was DeSantis or someone else, I think it would be a different kind of challenge,” Mr. Shaker said.
Former DNC chair Howard Dean echoed the need for a fresh face and revealed that he’s running for the 40-year-old Buttigieg in the 2020 primary.
“The generation after me is just a complete rubbish pile,” Dean told The Times.
