Former President Barack Obama is concerned that President Joe Biden “very well could lose” the 2024 election.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Obama “knows this is going to be a close race” and “feels that Democrats very well could lose,” a source close to the former president told the outlet. Obama reportedly thinks “the alternative is pretty dangerous for democracy," alluding to former President Donald Trump.
Major chunks of Biden’s agenda hang in the balance over the next few days, as the House opened an impeachment inquiry and Democratic jitters persist. https://t.co/SJ4XDy9C9a
— Annie Linskey (@AnnieLinskey) December 16, 2023
Additionally, David Axelrod, one of Obama’s former senior advisers, said on a recent episode of his “Hacks on Tap” podcast that Biden is not polling well. In the episode, he reportedly referenced a WSJ poll showing that only 37 percent of voters approve of Biden’s job in office, while 61 percent disapprove. This particular poll showed former Trump defeating Biden in a 2024 rematch.
“Job approval down, ratings generally down, most of the comparatives with Trump not good,” Axelrod said on the podcast, according to the New York Post. “What I worry about, you guys, from a Biden standpoint, is these are the kinds of things you get when people are starting to rationalize their votes. ‘Oh look, they’re ready to fire Biden,’ that’s a problem.”
Axelrod added that the White House “just put out another photo op with the ‘Bidenomics’ sign next to him … it’s just unbelievable to me,” he said, explaining that Biden's approval rating on his handling of the economy continues to sink.
Overall, Axelrod described the poll as “very, very dark” news for Biden ahead of 2024.
WSJ noted that Biden’s supporters claim that he will defeat the Republican nominee in 2024 over issues like abortion and, specifically, Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Biden’s team reportedly repeats the line: “Don’t compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.”
Last week, a new Reuters poll also showed Trump leading Biden in 2024.