The threat of Donald Trump nudged the president to seek a second term, he reportedly claimed at a fundraiser
It is possible that US President Joe Biden would not be running for office again if his predecessor, Donald Trump, were not in the race, the incumbent American leader has indicated, according to media reports on Tuesday.
The Democratic Party establishment has painted the ex-president and presumed Republican nominee as a unique threat to democracy in the country. Trump is facing a number of criminal allegations, including those stemming from his role in a purported plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia and the Capitol Hill riot.
“If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden was quoted as telling the audience during a fundraising blitz event outside of Boston. “We cannot let him win.”
Electability was the Biden campaign’s key argument during the previous election cycle, in which Democratic bosses threw their weight behind the veteran politician in the primary election. He gained momentum against progressive firebrand Bernie Sanders, after several other candidates pulled out and encoded Biden on the eve of the Super Tuesday.
The president’s ability to beat Trump again in a hypothetical rematch was cast into doubt last month, after a New York Times poll projected his loss in key swing states.
Biden has been treated as the presumed Democratic nominee by the party leadership and supportive media since before he officially launched his reelection campaign in April. His detractors, however, have argued that the lack of proper primaries is a disservice to the nation.
The criticisms were highlighted last week, after Democrats in Florida defended their decision to run Biden as a sole candidate in the March primary. Rep. Dean Phillips, who launched his bid for the nomination in October, blasted the decision as a move “to disenfranchise millions of Democratic voters.”
A PBS NewsHour poll in October showed 14% of voters rejecting both Biden and Trump in favor of a third party candidate, with the majority expressing negative attitude to both mainstream candidates.
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Biden’s approval ratings have been hit recently by the Israel-Hamas war and his administration’s virtually unconditional support for the bombing campaign in Gaza, which West Jerusalem launched in retaliation for the deadly raid by the Palestinian militant group on October 7. Muslim American organizers from swing states have threatened to “abandon Biden” over the stance.
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