CNN’s Dana Bash asks Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez if she will back President Joe Biden if he decides to run for reelection in 2024.
“You know, if the President chooses to run again in 2024,” the congresswoman from New York says before abruptly stopping and changing course. She laughs and tells Bash, “I mean first of all, I’m focused on winning this majority right now and preserving a majority in 2022. So we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it but, um, but I think if the President has a vision, then that’s something certainly we’re all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes.”
“That’s not a yes,” observes Bash.
“Yeah, you know, I think we should endorse when we get to it, but I believe that the President has been doing a very good job, uh, so far and, um, you know, should he run again, I think it’s … it’s … we’ll take a look at it.” She laughs and adds, “But right now we need to focus on winning a majority instead of a presidential election.”
Not exactly an ringing endorsement of Joe Biden. She dodged that question like a hot potato.
🚨 @AOC is refusing to back Biden in 2024.
What about the rest of her @HouseDemocrats colleagues? pic.twitter.com/QUyJlawM62
— NRCC (@NRCC) June 12, 2022
Ocasio-Cortez is not exactly a representative example of anything but the outermost fringes of politically viable leftism in the U.S., but the idea that she, one of the most recognizable names in the party, won’t come anywhere near supporting Biden, speaks volumes.
Although conservatives have been stunned by Joe Biden’s sharp left turn since his reemergence on the political scene in 2019, AOC likely views him as too conservative. This should be a huge red flag to the American electorate.
She may also see him as too old to run in 2024. If he were to win a second term, he would be 82 upon his inauguration.
That said, it’s entirely possible Ocasio-Cortez would support fellow Democratic socialist, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with whom her far-left politics are more in sync.
However, while Sanders remains cognitively sharp, he is one year older than Biden, and suffered a heart attack on the campaign trail in 2019. Still, in April, one of his advisors sent out a memo which said, “In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president,” according to The Washington Post.
Democrats appear cool to the idea of a 2024 Biden run.
The New York Times published an article on Saturday entitled, “Should Biden Run in 2024? Democratic Whispers of ‘No’ Start to Rise.”
It begins: “Midway through the 2022 primary season, many Democratic lawmakers and party officials are venting their frustrations with President Biden’s struggle to advance the bulk of his agenda, doubting his ability to rescue the party from a predicted midterm trouncing and increasingly viewing him as an anchor that should be cut loose in 2024.”
The piece is filled with quotes from party operatives who oppose a second run for the President.
The Times cites an article that appeared in New York magazine’s Intelligencer in May which noted, “Many of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors – even as they pledge to back Biden’s reelection in earnest – have quietly started to poke around for alternatives in 2024.”
Though none of the individuals questioned uttered a word about Biden’s obvious cognitive decline, there are numerous references to Biden’s age and the writers mention his propensity for gaffes.
David Axelrod, the chief strategist for both of former President Barack Obama’s campaigns, told the Times, “The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue.”
“Biden doesn’t get the credit he deserves for steering the country through the worst of the pandemic, passing historic legislation, pulling the NATO alliance together against Russian aggression and restoring decency and decorum to the White House,” Axelrod said. “And part of the reason he doesn’t is performative. He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of a camera as he once was, and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality.”
Actually, questions about Biden’s competence are very much rooted in reality. Virtually every public appearance is marred by gaffes. He slurs his words, he often loses his train of thought, and he lapses into gibberish.
Expect Democratic candidates to suddenly recall their “previous engagements” when he comes to their town, just as Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams did in January.
While Ocasio-Cortez’s stab at diplomacy on Sunday was admirable, she couldn’t conceal her feelings about a 2024 Biden run.
Unfortunately for Biden, it appears she’s not alone.
A previous version of this article was published on The Western Journal.
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Wow, I wasn’t aware that AOC was so put off by Biden because she thinks Joey Robinette wants to date her… or at least to sniff her hair…. Well, I can’t say I disagree with AOC on this one. If I was a liberal dem, (thank you Lord for allowing me the opposite choice) Joey Robinette wouldn’t be my first choice to run in 2024 (or my second, or my third or, well, you get the idea).
ON THE OTHER HAND, I hope Joey Robinette does run in 2024. I’ll bet my next half-tank of gas that any R with a pulse will be able to pound his senile posterior into the electoral turf – even more so if the R’s manage to not be stupid and select a real conservative with the courage of his / her convictions. Imagine, if you will, a presidential debate featuring Sen. Ted Cruz vs. Pres. Poopy Pants….. a guy could get Hunter-Biden-kind-of-rich owning the broadcast rights to see that one!
Like all communists before her, AOC was simply excuse making for failure in that Joe was not the right messenger to pull off the great experiment that is communism. Just like the Soviets weren’t the right ones. Or Castro wasn’t the right one. Or Pol Pot wasn’t the right one. Or Hugo Chavez wasn’t the right one. Or….. It just hasn’t been done the right way yet. Per AOC, they just need the right messenger. In reality, it’s not the messenger, it’s the message.