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'Cognitive Decline': Democrats Increasingly Voice Fears About Biden 2024

Democratic voters worry octogenarian president is 'too old' and 'out of touch' to run again, Wall Street Journal reports

(Getty Images)
February 13, 2023

Many Democratic voters doubt President Joe Biden's ability to run for a second term, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, even as party bosses are "enthusiastic about his candidacy."

According to Journal interviews, many Biden voters—even "those who think the 80-year-old president has done well during his first two years in office"—wonder if their party should run someone else in 2024.

"I think he's too old," Texas Democrat Kelly Spencer told the Journal. "I worry about cognitive decline. I worry about a stroke, anything like that."

The Journal report comes days after an Associated Press-NORC Center poll found that only 37 percent of Democrats want another Biden term. A whopping majority of all voters—78 percent—think Biden shouldn't run again, the poll found. A Washington Post-ABC poll found similar results.

Biden is the oldest U.S. president in history and would be 86 by the end of a second term.

California Democrat Andrew Dickerman said he's "anxious" about whether Biden "can hold up through a campaign."

Arizona Democrat Keri De Deo was even blunter, saying the president "seems out of touch."

"I worry about his health," De Deo said.

Democratic Party bosses have nevertheless backed Biden to the hilt, the Journal wrote:

Mr. Biden's standing among Democratic officials has strengthened, with many citing the legislative wins of his first two years and better-than-expected midterm election results. During last week's meeting of the Democratic National Committee, members approved a resolution expressing its "full and complete support" of the president's reelection.

Biden has been circumspect about whether he'll seek a second term, telling Telemundo on Thursday that he's "just not ready to make" a decision.