Even before the election results began pouring in on Nov. 5, making it clear Vice President Kamala Harris was on her way to defeat, Democrats started discussing the elephant in the room. One column in The Hill summed it up: “What if Joe Biden was the better candidate all along?”
While it’s been debated since the VP’s loss, Biden and Harris campaign battleground director Dan Kanninen helped settle the matter on Wednesday.
“I think that if he was the top of the ticket, versus Kamala Harris, who did an excellent job performing over 107 days, I don’t see how that changes the outcome,” Kanninen told NewsNation’s Blake Burman, according to The Hill.
“He wasn’t toxic to the American people,” Kanninen said, referring to President-elect Donald Trump. “He had the highest approval ratings in this campaign, higher than he had when he was President, when he ran the first time.”
“And that was not the proposition we thought would be entering in the campaign,” he added.
Biden, for his part, was asked recently during an interview with USA Today whether he thought he could’ve beaten Trump.
“It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes,” the president replied.
But as Matt reported, CNN’s data guru Harry Enten disagreed, calling that statement “flat-out bonkers.”
Based on the polling data, I categorize Biden's statement that he could have beaten Trump as "flat out bonkers."
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) January 8, 2025
Biden was well behind Trump when he dropped out. Biden never led in all of 2024. And no incumbent president who was anywhere near as unpopular as Biden has ever won. pic.twitter.com/lGk9h8pygU