Young Democrats say it was a mistake Biden ran for re-election in 2024
The Democratic Party is finally saying the quiet part out loud: “Biden should not have run again.”
As revelations about President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and his administration’s alleged cover-up come to light ahead of the release of CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson’s book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” some prominent Democrats are speaking out.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a 2024 presidential campaign surrogate for President Joe Biden and a potential 2028 presidential candidate, admitted on Wednesday that Biden should not have run for a second term. Similarly, Beto O’Rourke, one of Biden’s 2020 Democratic primary competitors and former congressman from Texas, joined the criticism this week, accusing Biden’s re-election campaign of failing future generations of Americans.
During an interview on “The Story” with Martha MacCallum, Khanna acknowledged that he did not have the full picture of Biden’s health and mental acuity before his disastrous debate performance. He stated, “We should be honest as a party that we made a mistake. Obviously, he should not have run.”
O’Rourke took it a step further on “Pod Save America,” calling Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024 a “terrible mistake” and asserting that Biden had failed the country in his most important job. O’Rourke emphasized that the rationale for Biden’s presidency, the first time, was to stop Donald Trump, a promise that he failed to deliver on.
An excerpt from Tapper and Thompson’s book revealed that Biden’s declining health was so severe that there were internal discussions about putting him in a wheelchair, but they couldn’t do so until after the election. In hindsight, both Khanna and O’Rourke agreed that Democrats should have had an open primary to allow other potential candidates to launch their own presidential bids.
Despite O’Rourke’s strong statements, he had previously expressed support for Biden, calling him the best chance to defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 election and praising his achievements in office. However, O’Rourke now believes that Democrats need to take accountability for their mistakes and be straightforward with the American people.
Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan defended Biden at Politico’s Security Summit, dismissing allegations that Biden had forgotten his name and praising his leadership as commander-in-chief. However, the criticism from within the Democratic Party continues to grow as more voices speak out against Biden’s decision to run for re-election.
As the 2024 election approaches, and with Donald Trump back in the White House, Democrats are reevaluating their strategy and acknowledging the mistakes of the past. The question remains whether the party can move forward and regain the trust of the American people in the aftermath of Biden’s decision to run again.
