Biden Says He’s Running For Reelection.
Should the President really seek a second term?
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Joe Biden just held his first news conference as President, where he discussed topics ranging from his administration’s handling of migrants coming across the border, to the filibuster. Personally, one little tidbit of information that stood out to me was the fact that Biden clearly expressed his intentions to run for reelection in 2024.
I probably shouldn’t have, but I found this surprising.
Throughout the entirety of his campaign for the Presidency, Joe Biden made it explicitly clear that he intended to be a transition President, who would take the reigns from Donald Trump and help the nation through a process of “coming together” and of course, healing the “soul of the nation”. Considering the reality that he also happens to be the oldest man ever to assume the office of the Presidency, even some of his most ardent supporters might have thought he would be there for four years, and position Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place for the next general election.
With Biden holding the most powerful position in the entire world, it seems more than fair to question whether he will be fit for the campaign trail let alone the Presidency when he is 80 years old. It was more than clear that this past run took a toll on him, so one can’t help questioning how he will do next time around while running the country at the same time. We have to ask ourselves whether or he genuinely feels he is best fit for the job, or if it’s an attempt of the neoliberal institutional establishment to cling to power for as long as possible in the midst of a changing political climate.
During the campaign, it was clear almost from the onset that the Democratic establishment wanted Kamala Harris to win. Putting her in the position of Vice President was a calculated effort to position her to win in a few years, and hopefully fend off more progressive candidates for four, likely eight years if she were to win. Is the left really supposed to wait another twelve years, all because the supposed “transition” candidate who happens to be nearing his 80s doesn’t see the need to step aside after one term?
It’s not just Biden’s age alone. It’s the fact that his ideas are old as well. I do not want a man who has vowed to veto Medicare for All dictating my future because he is to vain to let go. I don’t want a man who is fundamentally opposed to popular policy, and the issues I care about most setting the course for what the country will look like for decades upon decades to come.
All that said, this isn’t just about Biden. I would not have expected or wanted Bernie to seek a second term if he had won. There is no need for a man in his eighties to be see seeking another four year term, and part of me can’t help wondering if those surrounding Biden might believe this, too. He insists he will be running again, but a lot can change in the next few years. Whether it be his health or the will of the donors, I’m still skeptical about a second term for Biden.
