“I don’t see myself as anything other than a bridge,” said President Joe Biden during the Democratic presidential primary process in March 2020. He assured U.S. citizens that when the time came, he would step aside, passing the torch to a younger, competent generation. His remarks helped quell controversies surrounding his age, as he was 78 then. But what led Biden, who had previously vowed to be a one-term president, to change his mind and run for re-election?
On Sunday, in an article titled “How an aging Biden and his advisers locked in a decision to run again,” the Washington Post (WP) criticized Biden’s secretive decision-making process, which heavily relies on his family, and the Democratic leadership’s indifference to his family’s involvement.
According to WP, Biden decided to run for re-election on November 20, 2022, two and a half years after his ‘bridge remark’ on his 80th birthday, a first for a sitting U.S. president. WP noted, “Biden made a decision that day, foreshadowing that his ‘bridge’ to the younger generation would be much longer than many had anticipated.”
Contrary to predictions of a Republican sweep in the midterm elections held on November 8 of the same year, the Democrats maintained their majority in the Senate, encouraging Bidento to formalize his re-election bid.
The day after the midterm elections, Biden told reporters, “My intention is to run again.”
After confirming his re-election bid, he spent the Thanksgiving holiday with his family on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, the 24th of the same month.
WP reported that Biden’s family played a significant role in this decision. An inside source revealed that First Lady Jill Biden supported his re-election bid, and his younger son Hunter Bide and grandchildren also approved it.
At the time, warnings were consistently sent within and outside the Democratic Party. In a poll jointly conducted by WP and ABC broadcast, 56% of respondents affiliated with the Democratic forces opined that the Democrats should field a candidate other than Biden. The Republicans, on the other hand, seemed to welcome Biden’s re-election bid, mentioning his health issues.
WP pointed out that Biden relied more on his “instinct” and his family’s “advice” than on objectively analyzing the situation. The Democratic leadership did not field a candidate to challenge Biden.
As feared by his supporters, Biden failed to effectively counter Trump’s offensives during the first presidential candidate TV debate, which was hosted by CNN in Atlanta, Georgia and aired on June 27. He was seen rambling or blankly staring into space, causing extreme anxiety among Democratic supporters and sparking discussions on replacing the candidate within and outside the Democratic Party.
“The core forces around him and his family were horrified. Nobody knows what’s going on or whether it can be resolved,” said Chris Whipple, a journalist and a New York Times best-selling author who previously wrote a book about Biden.
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