The Washington Examiner, December 2023
President Joe Biden said the quiet part out loud during a closed-door fundraiser. Had former President Donald Trump not launched a comeback bid for the White House, Biden may have stepped aside in favor of the next generation of Democratic leadership.
While Biden and his aides have tried to clarify his Tuesday admission, his comment is unlikely to motivate Democrats and independent voters to cast a ballot for him in 2024 when they are already unenthusiastic about four more years of Biden. Biden has a “habit of saying the obvious things out loud,” according to Democratic strategist Stefan Hankin, a reference to Biden’s tendency to be more candid during private fundraisers than in public.
“I don’t think this is a question of where his heart is but what or who he sees as having the best chance to beat Trump,” Hankin told the Washington Examiner. “I tend to agree that Biden is one of the better candidates to run against Trump.”
