Report: Joe Biden Told Barack Obama He Will Run in 2024 to Defeat Trump

US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama and his running mate Jo
EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images
Wendell Husebø

President Joe Biden reportedly told Barack Obama he will run for reelection in 2024 to defeat Donald Trump.

Despite his low approval rating, Biden believes he is the only Democrat who can defeat Donald Trump if he also decides to run, two sources told the Hill. Biden’s plans to campaign for a second term confirm his previous statements. If Biden does run, he will be in his early 80s, an old age for a tough presidential campaign.

“I believe he thinks he’s the only one who can beat Trump. I don’t think he thinks there’s anyone in the Democratic party who can beat Trump and that’s the biggest factor,” a source familiar with the Biden and Obama conversation said.

“[Biden] wants to run and he’s clearly letting everyone know,” a second source added.

Biden claimed in March of 2021 that he intends to run for reelection, a dilemma that has divided the Democrat Party and engulfed Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

Both Harris and Buttigieg reportedly have ambitions to run in 2024. But Buttigieg has downplayed his presidential ambitions after White House staffers claimed the secretary’s potential 2024 bid was “disrespectful” to Harris. Likewise, Harris has tried to publicly avoid commenting on her prospects.

The White House and Democrat National Committee (DNC) have also struggled with how to “build the electorate writ large” for the midterms and beyond due to Biden’s decision to run in 2024.

“People are super frustrated in the trenches around what’s happening with the DNC and the White House’s control of it,” a DNC member told the Hill in August about the direction of the party.

“The White House is not thinking about how to build the electorate writ large, but they’re concentrating on [a] few states,” the source continued. “It’s all about [the] presidential re-elect. What’s happening is a bit of a split within the DNC between ‘Team Biden’ and people who are trying to run an election cycle.”

The infighting has continued into 2022. Last week, Democrat strategists said that if Biden runs in 2024 to defeat Trump, he will first have Democrat primary challengers.

“If it looks like it’s going to be a free-for-all, then I think it’s going to be back to the 24-person primary,” said Corbin Trent, a former senior aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

If Biden wins the potential Democrat primary, polls reveal here, here, and here, that Biden is losing to Trump in a head-to-head potential rematch. In fact, an April poll revealed Trump is leading Biden by at least five points.

Biden losing in the polls to Trump mirrors his overall approval rating. According to a Wednesday Quinnipiac poll, just 33 percent of Americans approved of Biden’s job performance, matching Biden’s all-time record low from January.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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