Some of Vice President Joe Biden’s most ardent supporters are withdrawing their support.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Bill Kristol, the founder and editor-in-chief of the neoconservative journal The Weekly Standard, became a passionate opponent of Donald Trump and headed the NeverTrump movement.
In 2018, Kristol co-founded The Bulwark, a publication whose coverage is mostly focused on Trump criticism.
Two years later, he endorsed Biden in the Democratic primary, calling it a “simple choice,” and in the general election.
However, Kristol urged on Wednesday that Biden should announce he will not seek re-election.
He stated on Twitter that a Biden retirement announcement would improve the Democrats’ chances in the midterm elections of 2022 and ultimately to a Democratic triumph in the presidential election of 2024.
Straightforward from here:
1. Biden announces not running again.
2. 2022 focus turns to R extremism, Ds do well in Nov.
3. Inflation subsides, Ukraine defeats Russia, Biden is successful 1-term president.
4. Younger moderate D defeats Trump or Trumpist in '24.
Pourquoi pas?
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 13, 2022
As the president’s popularity plummets amid unprecedented inflation and other difficulties, even leftists are increasingly turning their backs on him.
64 percent of Democratic voters, according to a recent survey by the New York Times and Siena College, want someone other than the incumbent to be their choice for president in 2024.
At a White House event on Tuesday, Biden exploded at a reporter who questioned him about the survey.
“Read the polls, jack! You guys are all the same,” he remarked.
"What's your message to Democrats who don't want you to run again?"
BIDEN: "Read the polls! Read the polls, Jack! You guys are all the same." pic.twitter.com/e0G3Sfufwm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 12, 2022
If Biden ran for re-election in 2024, he would begin his second term at the age of 82, shattering records for presidential age.
Concerns about his age and unpopularity have been whispered by Democrats.
In a following tweet, Kristol reiterated his wish for Biden to forego a 2024 re-election campaign.
A lively (I thought!) podcast with @SykesCharlie.
We discuss just how (predictably) dangerous Trump proved to be, and the failure of Republicans and conservatives to come to grips with this.
Bonus: I make the case for Biden announcing he's one and done.https://t.co/Ux5LubuqpN
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 13, 2022
More on this story via The Western Journal:
At the now-defunct Weekly Standard, the neoconservative ideologue became a crucial proponent of President George W. Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The invasion has since become regarded as one of the worst foreign policy disasters in U.S. history.
Kristol reinvented himself by aligning with progressive Democrats as a Trump critic after the 2016 GOP primary, establishing himself as a mainstay on liberal cable channels such as CNN and MSNBC.