Politics
‘I don’t think he physically makes it’: Trump predicts Biden won’t run in 2024
By Jake Beardslee · December 6, 2023
In brief…
- Trump predicts Biden won't be 2024 Democratic nominee, claiming fitness concerns
- Points to Biden's verbal gaffes and physical stamina as reasons for doubt
- Suggests Kamala Harris would be replacement nominee
In an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” this week, former President Donald Trump predicted that President Joe Biden will not end up as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. “I personally don’t think he makes it,” Trump said, claiming concerns over Biden’s physical and mental fitness.
Trump pointed to Biden’s verbal gaffes, stating “I can’t think of in the last couple of months any appearance that he’d had where he wasn’t either mumbling or bumbling or stumbling or having no clue where to go.” He then mocked Biden’s past comment about wanting to “take [Trump] behind the barn,” puckering his lips to suggest Biden could barely blow air.
“I believe he’d fall over,” Trump said. “I watched him at the beach. He wasn’t able to lift a beach chair which is meant for children to lift … and mentally I would say he’s possibly equally as bad and maybe worse.”
Trump also warned that there are “vicious people surrounding [Biden] around that beautiful Oval Office,” referring to them as “evil” and “communists.” He singled out Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently debated GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling Newsom “slick but he’s got no facts.”
As for who Trump sees as the most likely 2024 Democratic nominee if Biden bows out, he cited Vice President Kamala Harris. “I guess they say that Kamala would be the odds to beat,” he stated.
Recent polling shows Trump competitive both head-to-head with Biden nationally and in key battleground states. 41% of respondents in an Economist/YouGov poll said Biden has done a better job as president, while 51% chose Trump.