President Joe Biden Is Running For Re-Election. Why?

President Joe Biden announced that he is running for re-election Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in a pre recorded video. Biden, 80, is the oldest US President in history. There had been speculation throughout his time in office that Mr. Biden would only serve one term in office due to his age. Despite that, Biden had always maintained that he planned on running for a second term.

President Joe Biden narrowly beat former President Donald Trump in 2020, winning 306 electoral votes. Ironically, President Biden’s electoral college winning margin in 2020 was the same as former President Donald Trump’s in 2016. Mr. Biden won the electoral college by 44,000 votes across 3 swing states; Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin. Had Mr. Trump won those states, he would have won a second term.

There was controversy about the changed voting rules in certain states and the method of counting the votes during election day. Pennsylvania’s extended voting period during the run up to the 2020 election was possibly against the state’s election rules.

On election night, the manner in which voting was halted, and the counting of votes in certain states was not transparent and aroused suspicion. It was reasonable to question what was going on, but there has been no clear evidence of fraud that I have seen. And I am not saying this because of left wing tech coercion (although there is some of that related to the election). I genuinely have not seen any evidence of voter fraud.

Regardless of the controversies, the left wing media bias, and suppression of unfavorable Biden stories, like the Hunter Biden laptop story, which mainstream media suppressed and claimed was disinformation before it being proved not to be, Joe Biden was narrowly elected President in 2020.

The January 6th riot at the Capitol soured Americans’ taste for Donald Trump, and gave Biden a political opportunity. Even with a forgiving press and an artificially induced Covid recession ending, Biden was not able to take advantage. He pushed hard left social policies and racial demagoguery was ubiquitous in his speeches.

He bungled the Afghanistan withdrawal and saw high inflation. In late 2022, we saw two straight quarters of negative GDP growth, the definition of a recession. But despite that, Biden’s Democratic Party did surprisingly well in the 2022 midterms.

Possibly buoyed by the overturning of Roe v Wade and likely from some of the poor GOP Senate candidates, many of which Donald Trump chose, the Democrats gained a seat in the Senate. They only narrowly lost control of the House of Representatives. These shocking turn of events might have given Biden more confidence to decide to run for re-election.

Biden has had questionable oratory skills his entire career. Over the last few years they have gotten progressively worse. Many thought that Biden was too old in 2020 and that maybe he could hang on for a single term. But despite Biden’s frequent mangled sentences, his physical fitness is quite good for an 80 year old, and he hasn’t had a total cognitive collapse. Additionally, Biden looks to have a good shot at beating likely GOP nominee former President Donald Trump.

Despite these better forecasts for Mr. Biden, one simple question must be asked about his running for re-election. Why? At 80 years old, Biden only has so much time left. If Mr. Biden were to win a second term and serve it out, he would be 86 by the time he left office.

Assuming Biden lives another 10-15 years, he would be spending almost half of the remainder of his life in a high stress position. And he quite possibly might be spending the majority of the remainder of this life in office. Why subjugate yourself to this?

Biden could finish his term, say he was the man who stopped Trump from winning in 2020, and always have his name in the history books. He will always be remembered as a President, and one who accomplished a lot for the hard left cause. If I were Biden, I would be happy with my one term in office, and at the end of the term, at age 82, spend the rest of my time enjoying retirement.

Maybe the feeling of power is something that you can’t get over. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is 2 years older than Biden and is still in Congress. Sitting Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Dianne Feinstein of California are 9 years older than Biden. Maybe continuing to serve gives a sense of purpose that people need.

It’s difficult to ascertain exactly what Biden’s though process is. He clearly views himself as the Democrats’ best chance to win again in 2024. He might think that he is perfectly healthy, and that standing for re-election helps his party and his country. It is also true that it is difficult to relinquish power, and the Presidency is the apogee of power.

Mr. Biden gave his announcement on the 4 year anniversary of his 2020 announcement in a low key, pre-recorded message. In his announcement video, he often referenced the GOP’s purported extremism. Never mind that on most social and economic issues the actual positions of both the GOP and the Democrats are to the left of where they have been for most of history, it seems to have some resonance.

Despite his ever present gaffes, one should not underestimate Biden. Many thought that he was finished in the 2020 Democratic Primaries after being drubbed in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. But he came back to win the Democratic nomination. He won the general election, and has now served over 2 years in office.

Biden has had many failures and continues to have historically low enthusiasm within his own party. But Donald Trump’s likely GOP nomination provides Biden a real opportunity to win again. And while his age and declining mental acuity have been a constant source of concern, Biden hasn’t seemed to decline that rapidly since his innauguration.

Biden seems to be nobody’s first choice. But he seems to be the guy the Democrats need to keep their power. And he seems game to continue the job of being President. Maybe he does win re-election and does serve out his second term. Whether he wins re-election, and whether that would be good for America or his personal health remains to be seen.