Breathing room for Biden: Big summer wins ease 2024 doubts
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his allies hope big recent wins on climate, health care and more will at least temporarily tamp down questions among top Democrats about whether he will run for reelection.
That optimism may be short lived, at risk if and when former President Donald Trump announces another White House campaign. But for now, the “Will he or won’t he” Washington parlor game appears to be on hold.
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“I think the naysayers are pretty quiet right now,” said former Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. “I think they’ve seen reality.”
In just the past several weeks, Biden has signed into law a climate and prescription-drug package that accomplishes many of his party’s long-held objectives; Congress has sent him bills that impose strict limits on guns and set out a plan to boost U.S. high-tech manufacturing. A drone strike killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, average gasoline prices have fallen back below $4 per gallon and there are signs that inflation — while still white-hot — may finally be cooling.
All that has eased a debate over Biden’s future that was spreading. Fellow Democrats running for reelection were struggling to answer whether America’s oldest president should seek another term. But now they have a fresh agenda they can campaign on heading into the November midterms.
The president has increased his Democratic fundraising efforts, and next week in Maryland he’s holding his first rally for the party of the fall campaign season. He also plans to travel aggressively to boost candidates.
As a former senator, Biden knows some lawmakers may need to create distance from him to best win their races — but also that others could benefit from joint appearances. Aides say Biden may prove most useful amplifying Democrat-championed issues that are broadly popular, like lowering prescription drug costs and protecting abortion rights.
Cedric Richmond, one of Biden’s closest White House advisers before leaving for a senior Democratic National Committee job, said he wasn’t sure the spate of positive news would put an end to 2024 questions, “but it should.”
For “tried and true Democrats, the answer was a simple, ‘Yes, he should run. Yes he’ll be our nominee. Yes he’ll win.’”
But comments like that don’t make the news, said Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman. “So the only story was when somebody waffles or blows the question.”
