The establishment media are searching for President Joe Biden’s 2024 replacement.
After a series of policy failures and polling that suggests Biden is unable to perform presidential duties, the establishment media is searching for a presidential replacement that can combat a Republican nominee in 2024. Polling shows Donald Trump is the most likely Republican contender.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post’s Ashley Parker and Matt Viser wrote an article entitled, “As some Democrats grow impatient with Biden, alternative voices emerge.” The article uses several examples of Biden’s failed leadership to report that Democrats “are frustrated at Biden’s caution in what they consider a moment of crisis, and figures like Newsom and Pritzker are showcasing a sharper approach.”
Criticizing Biden for his weak and moderate response to Monday’s mass shooting, the Post’s writers praised Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) “fiery” and “direct” rhetoric on dismantling the Second Amendment. The article read:
In the view of many distraught Democrats, the country is facing a full-blown crisis on a range of fronts, and Biden seems unable or unwilling to respond with appropriate force. In contrast, J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ Democratic governor, delivered a fiery response that took direct aim at those blocking gun control legislation.
Newsom is another character the media favor to replace Biden. On Tuesday, Politico’s Jeremy B. White and Gary Fineout wrote an article pushing Newsom’s potential 2024 candidacy. The article praised Newsom for his urgency in “lambasting” Republicans with a “progressive” agenda. The article said:
For Newsom, the recent feud fused an old approach with new urgency. He has always relished lambasting red-state governors to create a contrast with California’s progressive agenda. Florida has been a favorite target. Newsom regularly derided the state’s lax approach to the coronavirus as he touted California’s more-stringent strategy.
“Denying White House interest has become a regular exercise for the clearly ambitious Newsom,” the article added.
The Post and Politico are not the only publication worried about Biden’s potential second run. The Hill, Atlantic, Axios, New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, and Vanity Fair have all raised concerns about Biden remaining on the ticket come 2024.
The media’s push for a 2024 candidate to replace Biden comes as a June poll showed a majority of voters believe it is “likely” Vice President Kamala Harris will become the president before Biden ends his four-year term. Another 58 percent of voters say Biden should take a cognitive health test and reveal the results to the American public.
Yet Harris’s overall approval rating is lower than Biden’s (30 percent). The media have alternatively widely publicized a Yahoo News/YouGov survey that shows Newsom in a potentially strong position in a head-to-head matchup against Republicans, including Donald Trump. “These results are fueling speculation about who Democrats may consider as a candidate in two years,” Fox KTVU reported.
The media’s search for Biden’s replacement has reportedly “irked” and “irritated” the president. “The White House is trying to tamp down speculation about plans to seek re-election, while aides say President Biden is bristling at the persistent questions,” the Times wrote.
In April, Biden reportedly told former President Barack Obama he intends to run in 2024 because Biden believes he is the only Democrat who can defeat a potential presidential bid by Donald Trump. Public opinion seems to be in Trump’s favor. Multiple polls have shown Biden behind Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head contest: here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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