The Biden camp is preparing for an onslaught of criticism as the 2024 campaign approaches
as President Biden It is preparing to launch a re-election bid in 2024Allies and colleagues are preparing to face a wave of criticism about his age and his mental and physical capabilities for a grueling campaign, according to a new report.
Democrats They are already bracing for critics who point every time to the 80-year-old president Trips while boarding Air Force One or err in highlighting his age and mental aptitude, The newspaper “The Hill” reported Sunday.
“He’s really going to put the president to the test,” one Democratic strategist who has worked on recent presidential campaigns told the outlet. “Campaign travel is brutal for all of us, but he’s got to travel from place to place and be on top of his game at every stop because he’s going to be scrutinized more than any other candidate lately.”
Republicans are “making age and mental intelligence part of their argument,” the Democratic activist said, referring to blanket coverage when Biden fell off his bike Last summer near his beach house in Delaware.
“They’ll look for anything to prove he’s unqualified for the job and because he’ll be on the road so much, there will inevitably be some moments,” said the strategist.
“The more there are, the more likely it is to slip up,” another strategist told The Hill.
The 2024 contest will be very different from the 2020 race when Biden spent most of his time campaigning from his basement in Delaware during the coronavirus pandemic, appearing on late-night news or talk shows or taping virtual campaign spots.
Former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies mocked Biden for confining him to the basement and accused him of “hiding” while on the stump.
Biden won’t have that option this time — and he’ll have to show he can handle the rigors of the campaign as he juggles the nation’s daily affairs.
Basil Smikli, director of the public policy program at Hunter College who has served as a strategist with the New York State Democratic Party, said Biden will be judged based on his interactions with voters but also on his “activity as an activist.”
“He benefits more from being able to control his environment now as president than he did in 2020,” Smikkel told The Hill. “But even through this lens, the criticisms may be more important.”
The president dismisses concerns about his age by saying, “Watch me,” and those in the Biden camp point to his arduousness. Trip to Ukraine In February to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky – a visit that required nearly a 10-hour round-trip train ride.
The Biden campaign will adapt, said Kristi Setzer, a Democratic strategist, “whether that means long-haul interviews because of quick hits, fewer events, or something else.”
“Biden will win in 2024 based on achievement and sentiment and realizing he’s not out to burn the country down,” she told The Hill. “Juveniles are not endurance.”
Jason Miller, the 76-year-old’s longtime Trump adviser who’s also working on the 2024 campaign, He responded to the Hill report On Twitter with two words: “weak and weak.”
