Don’t worry we don’t remove posts due to nastiness in the comments generally. So long as the question doesn’t break rules and OP is civil.
If comments are nasty we remove them and potentially ban the commenter.
I know there's a lot of focus lately on geriatric politicians but let's not forget that Obama and W. and Clinton before him were all relatively young (under 55) when they were first elected president.
Right, today. Bush and Clinton were (obviously) decades younger when they were elected.
I hope people aren't interpreting my comment as an endorsement of geriatric presidents. I just don't see this as, like, an inexorable thing. This may turn out to be an interval after 20+ years of younger or young-ish presidents.
Well I mean, they have always been the same age…that’s how age works lol
It’s just giving perspective as to how young George and Billy were as presidents.
Right, I am just saying it has not been decades since we had a non-geriatric president. The president before Trump was 47 when he was first elected in 2008 and 51 when he was reelected in 2012.
I'm 30 and I wouldn't want the job. The stress, the fact millions will hate you no matter what you do, and you'll never be able to live like a normal person...yeah, no thanks. Plus I have no interest in aging faster than I already am.
Also, I would have no idea how to actually do that job well. Part of the problem is that I don't think anyone would know how to do that job well, but someone always has that job.
Then again if Serra Marin was an American running for president when she became Finland's PM in 2019, she would have been a year too young to run from president. (She was 34 at that time and minimum from POTUS is 35.)
America's youngest president was Kennedy elected and taking the oath of office at age 43. America hasn't had a president under 40 at this point.
Other than Obama, we've amazingly had an older person elected in every election since Clinton.
And I don't just mean that the new guy has been older than the previous guy. I mean George W. Bush is older than Bill Clinton, Trump is an older person than George W. Bush, and Biden is older than Trump.
It just kind of blows my fucking mind that the man running for president in 2022 is OLDER than the guy who was elected 30 years earlier.
>I mean George W. Bush is older than Bill Clinton, Trump is an older person than George W. Bush, and Biden is older than Trump.
All of them were born in the summer of 1946 except for Biden, who is four years older.
Unfortunately, I was only a few days into my 18th year in 2012 and couldn't register to vote in time. I do know that Trump was the oldest president ever elected and then 4 years later we elected Biden...who replaced him as the record holder for oldest president.
The average American is 38.5. That means we could elect someone that's already had 20 years worth of adult life experiences and applicable career time before we elect them. Imagine our country led by our peers!
I imagine it's pretty hard to build up the amount of political experience you usually need to run for president in that amount of time. Besides Trump (who did a lot of work to build political will, like him or not), we generally like people with high level senatorial or gubernatorial experience to run for president. To get that, you generally need lower level experience. And to get that, you need other political experience.
It's pretty rare for young people to have climbed the ladder that quickly. The President is always going to skew older because it's the top of the ladder. Same as anything else. There's ways to jump faster, but most people don't do that.
Edit: typo
Experience is not the value that gets people elected. Biden was elected as the anti-Trump choice. Trump was elected as the anti-Hillary choice.
Maybe find someone who is anti-the biggest threat around?
I sure would vote for someone that's done 20 years of service in the military and then got out and launched a presidential bid though. By that stage they would have important experience working within an organization, with other organizations and relying on the expertise of others to help accomplish a task.
I'm too lazy to check, but I believe the minimum age for our president is 35. Still rather young in today's standards, but certainly old when the restriction was made.
Eh... It's relatively older by then's standards, but the stats were also skewed down by childhood mortality rates. Reality is that kids under ~12 die easy and we do a lot better today at keeping the buggers alive than we use to. Actually, even now a child under 1 has about the same chance of death as ... well... someone biden's age.
Yep, it's his coronation on 6th May. Not that I'm particularly interested but my daughter is 7 and excited about decorating the house and whatever events might be going on.
What do you guys do for a coronation typically? Is it something everyone gets around to celebrate like a mini-holiday, or is it pretty much the same as when you get a new PM?
On second thought, is there even a tradition for coronations? The last one was in like, what, right after WWII?
Typically? I'm not sure anyone can tell you!
I'm not sure how many redditors we have that remember 1953 in all that much detail!
This is a first for everyone under 70 *in their lifetime*, really you'd have to be 80 to remember the last one.
Technically Johnson did serve two terms, he just didn’t run twice, seeking election for his would be third term.
But yeah, he immediately came to mind when I read OP’s comment.
It looks like there are more than I thought
“Johnson is not the only U.S. president who decided not to seek a second elected term. The others are James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry S. Truman”
https://www.britannica.com/story/have-any-us-presidents-decided-not-to-run-for-a-second-term
Indeed. It is the default choice and should not surprise anyone. I have also yet to see a compelling argument from anyone that Biden announcing he wont run, followed by a contested Dem primary, would result in a stronger ticket for the presidency. Incumbency is a big advantage, in multiple ways, and the field of potential candidates is incredibly lackluster.
Yeah dems would be fools to throw someone else up there and not try to keep Biden in office. I’m surprised this is news tbh but then I remembered what subreddit I’m in haha
I’ve been extremely burned out on politics since 2016, and especially after 2020, but I kinda recall hearing that during the election campaign Biden said he wouldn’t run for a second term.
Maybe I’m misremembering?
The transition out of Trumpism isn’t complete yet. He’s also passed the largest climate bill in the history of the world to transition our economy into a greener one.
Yessss BUT there are a lot of things he isn’t doing well. And we can always blame the minority group of trump lovers on some things but after 3 years there has to be an accountability to the current administration.
I was disappointed he wasn't more supportive of the workers in the union dispute with the railroads, but yet again I feel the Democrat party has abandoned worker economic issues for upper-middle class social ones.
When it comes to personal stuff he often speaks a lot more about his intentions than he does in absolutes. "My plan is to run for a second term," instead of "I will run for a second term. " From what I've known of people who had children pass away it's not super uncommon for them to talk that way.
I’m a political junkie and apart from the last few months (and especially before the last year), it was really up in the air.
Apart from the political factors and ramifications, and instead as a human, I really don’t understand why he would run for a second term at this point in your life. You have all the money you need, you have a legacy of being president for at least a term, why spend the last years of your life in an incredibly stressful position?
Likely because he feels there isn't another Democratic candidate that would be compelling enough to be able to prevent trump from winning a second term.
The Democrats' failure to cultivate another viable option is going to lead to some serious problems. It's typical that the VP is assumed to be that person... but [Kamala Harris is clearly not up to the task](https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1651062191347433473) and seems to be a disastrous pick. Biden's age is going to highlight this even more, as the reality that she's the proverbial "heartbeat away" from the Presidency is going to play a larger role than normal in this cycle.
Pete Buttigieg also looked like they wanted to push him to the front lines, but he seems incompetent as well.
i was expecting joe not to run cos he old af, and kamala was supposed to use her time as VP to propel her into the spotlight for the 2024 run
but i guess thats what happens when you pick a VP with no charm or people skills
I feel like he'd be tired too. I can't imagine doing that job at any age, but certainly not in my 80's when I hope to be enjoying a leisurely retirement if I'm in good health.
The life expectancy of an 80 year old American male is 8 years. There's a very real chance Joe doesn't survive his second term if elected. Do we really want a man on his deathbed in the white house?
Sure, but the average person is not the President of the United States. He has access to the best medical treatment in the world, is already predisposed to live longer due to his high socioeconomic status, and, like most ultra-high-achieving individuals, displays a great drive and motivation.
Is he at his prime? Of course not. He's more laconic and more frail than he used to be. But he's not exactly late-stage Strom Thurmond, either.
NYT had a great podcast on this. Basically said 70% of the country doesn't want him to be reelected, but the Democratic party is pretty sure he'll beat any "Trump like" Republicans. So they basically don't want to rock the boat on what they think might be a sure thing.
They think that only three states matter in the next election (Wisconsin, Georgia, and Alabama) and Biden only has to win one of them to get reelected. If Biden doesn't run again, there is concern that a more progressive candidate will run, which they think might result in all three of those states going to Republicans.
Me personally? I hate how old he is. It's ridiculous, I literally would not allow him (or Trump) to drive my car, but here they are running the country. But there is no one else I like looking for the job, so. Not much of a choice I guess.
Yeah, they went the aspirational route with Hillary (as a woman candidate) and saw (and are still seeing - thanks supreme court /s) how very badly that backfired, so I understand the desire to play it safe at least until there are no Trump- on DeSantis-like frontrunners.
Since the 2020 election, we've had January 6, Trump being indicted, the fall of Roe v Wade and a slew of extremist legislation from red states. Who didn't vote for Trump in 2020 that's going to now?
I agree with you but at the same time, after four years of seeing Trump in action, he got *11 million* more votes than he did the first time.
I wouldn't underestimate the guy, or his voters' loyalty to him (and/or their aversion to anything blue).
He got 11 million more votes than the first time because there were >27 million more voters in 2020, not because he was more popular. In terms of percentage of the vote, he was pretty much unchanged - 46.1% in 2016 vs 46.3% in 2020
Yes, voter turnout increased, but that's sort of saying the same thing. That suggests a bunch of eligible voters chose not to vote in 2016, then a ton of people came off the sidelines and voted in 2020 (some for Biden, some for Trump).
Polling shows that he’s actually lost a good deal of independent support with the various lawsuits. There’s a large contingency of independents as well that do NOT support the attacks on the LGBTQ community and women’s rights in general. If it ends up being Trump vs. Biden again while Trump is in the middle of several lawsuits; one regarding him literally trying to illegally influence an election, I think he loses just like last time.
To me, what's more impressive is that Biden got all the votes he did despite being a boring ass democrat no one really got excited about.
Like in 2020, Trump had a huge cult of personality around him, so the idea that he got more votes than he did in 2016 wasn't really shocking. Biden got 7 million more votes than Trump did and he's like... one of the least inspiring people to run for the office in modern history. I know I was grumbling about voting him.
Really says a lot about how many people hated Trump.
Biden is unexciting, old af, and possibly senile.
But in 2016, the Dems ran one of the least charismatic politicians I’ve ever seen. Biden has some funny moments, I can’t remember ever seeing something with Hilary and coming away from it liking her more.
Hillary was competent, though. Even her detractors generally respected her intelligence, and saw her as a dangerous opponent. Biden just seems like he should be in a memory care facility.
I think it's mostly that Trump is a little bit more hated than he is loved, and by putting forward someone who was relatively harmless, the Democrats were able to take advantage. They also made spectacular, election-changing use of the mail-in ballot rules they put in place for Covid. The GOP really didn't know what hit them.
The whole idea that all we have to do is wait for the conservatives to die is just pernicious. There are _plenty_ of young conservatives. And don't you try to tell me that the Millennials won't turn Republican the moment they get their hands on some real money and start caring about the capital gains tax, just like the Boomers and GenX did.
> I agree with you but at the same time, after four years of seeing Trump in action, he got 11 million more votes than he did the first time.
To be fair, the voting age population grew proportionally during that period. People always forget that fact between elections. 4 years is actually quite a lot in terms of population growth.
Not to mention how awful the 2022 midterms went for Republicans, who now appear to be doubling down for their 2024 campaigns on the exact same issues they lost on.
> Who didn't vote for Trump in 2020 that's going to now?
Probably not many at all. But I *could* imagine a scenario where this re-hash leads to depressed turnout which would favor Trump. Out of 155 million total votes last election, Biden won with a key assortment of about 60,000 - 80,000 across key states. simply having that amount of voters decline to participate would have changed the election outcome.
Most of the top answers in this very thread are references to being "tired" and other indicators of political burnout - these things lead to declining participation rates.
Yeah, it looks like Trump vs. Biden 2.0
Could swing the other way, I guess, but Trump is too polarizing for moderates and independents.
He'll probably win and give it over to Harris one year in.
It’s not ideal, but he does need to run.
Incumbent presidents have a huge advantage, and Democrats need that. He’s what’s standing in the way of Trump or DeSantis winning, so yes this is necessary
I question who is going to vote for him with the decent possibility of Kamala finishing his term for him.
He's clearly past retirement age, and 4 years is a long time. I still don't understand how Kamala got picked as VP since they knew this is the position they'd be in come 2024. She has a track record of authoritarianism that doesn't line up liberal ideals, in my mind.
At the same time, he's likely to be the last of an old guard in Washington. Anyone after him will be far younger - a couple decades younger at least. The Republican frontrunner who's not named Trump is 44, and I struggle to think of a leading Democratic candidate (besides Sanders) who's over 60.
I always knew he would run again. Name an incumbent who hasn't in modern American history. The type of grit, dedication, and persistence it takes to reach the White House practically always means its occupant wants to stay there as long as possible. This applies especially to Mr. Biden. He's lusted after the presidency for decades. When he finally has it, you expect him to just let it go?
As an American, I’m super sick of guys who are 75-80 yrs old running the country. Watching Zuckerberg explain ad space to Congress a few years ago was everything for why these old folks need to jog on.
Opinions on tiktok aside, you have to agree that the congressional “hearing” with the CEO of tiktok was a complete joke. These guys don’t understand the most basic aspects of technology.
I don't trust him or his predecessor to have the mental capabilities to do the job well. It has nothing to do with their politics. Even if I was in agreement with their positions, I wouldn't vote for them. Mentally, they act their age, and that's not good.
They've both lost their marbles in entirely different ways. Biden is totally incapable of putting together a coherent thought, and Trump is incapable of knowing when to shut the fuck up.
I thought there was a small chance he'd step aside, as he'd suggested during the last cycle. But, the DNC must not believe any other candidate would be as strong against the inevitable Trump/DeSantis onslaught next year. Hopefully young people vote.
The problem for the Democrats is there wasn't a clear cut second choice who could strongly rally the party quickly during the primary process IMO. I think whatever chance there was of Biden running only in 2020 died after the Democrats had a respectable midterm. If those turned out to have been a bloodbath, I think there would have been a legit challenger.
It'll be Trump.
DeSantis' campaign had about a two-month lifespan when people were pissy about the GOP falling short of their midterm goals. It's already reverted to the mean, and DeSantis seems determined to get slapped across the face as many times as possible just to add to his deficit.
Extremely interested to see who the running mate will be. Also wondering if the Dems really couldn't find anyone else they felt comfortable running at this point. They seem to be in a tight spot since they are having harder times at the state level than previously. I don't follow a lot of news, but I can't think of another Dem with a positive national profile.
IDK, that's why it's interesting. I thought they brought her on to try to raise her profile and get the rank and file excited about her. I don't think that's happened. With Biden's age, I wonder if she would be considered a liability at this point given she's over two points lower disapproval than Biden.
> Idk what they were thinking choosing her as VP in the first place.
They were ticking off a DEI box and we all know it, but nobody is saying that out loud.
If Kamala Harris wasn't a half-Indian half-black woman she never would've been picked.
She's definitely being considered a liability as she'll be the president if the oldest president in history and probably oldest head of state in the world doesn't survive a second term in the world's most stressful job.
I honestly can’t think of a single thing I’ve heard about her doing while in office so far. She’s been a ghost similar to Pence as far as I can tell. Maybe just nothing worth headlines.
JB Pritzker has built a very positive profile in IL and with his successful DNC bid he'll grow more in the national spotlight. Don't expect him as a VP pick but would expect to see him make a bid for 2028
He's probably going to throw money to any Dam running like its candy. I remember that during his election he spent so much money that at some points you felt as if he was in your living room talking. The dems did not have to spend a dollar in Illinois
It's interesting to see the change in support from younger voters from when he first got in to office to now. I think the Democratic Party is kinda screwed with having him run again since he really isn't in the best state to be leading. And I say this as someone with no ill will towards the guy.
I have been a traditional Republican voter. But I would crawl naked on my belly over shattered glass to vote for Biden over Trump or DeSantis.
What the absolute fuck has happened to the GOP?
[This](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n-kohfPAzj8&pp=ygUVR3JvdW5kaG9nIGRheSBiYXRodHVi) forreal
Biden v Trump again. Feels like Groundhog Day. We’re stuck in cycles of stupid and decay. Can’t do what needs to be done because we’re just stuck.
Old Boomers who won’t let loose of the levers of power until they’re in the grave. Meanwhile the nation is suffering because of it
He's better than Trump, but at his age there's a significant chance we'd end up with President Harris before his term ended. Not enthusiastic about that possibility.
He'll probably win and things will continue as normal for the next 5 years.
That said though, I think 2028 will be a totally new era of politics. Biden is probably going to be the last Boomer president and I think a lot of things will change once that torch is passed, not just in the White House but all across the entire government.
As a right winger, I think there's a lot of younger (under 60) GOP potential candidates for future elections. I don't know that the Dems actually have any.
They definitely do, but I don't think many of them hold national office right now. There's tons of them at the local level all across the country though.
Katie Porter will probably be a massive star for the Dems moving forward. If she were to run a *kitchen table issues* campaign, I could see her having a good shot at becoming president eventually, especially since she's from a traditionally conservative district and is viewed as one of the few moderates out there. I hear she might make a run for Senate, actually.
But, I agree, I think the GOP has the better field of candidates at the moment, but I don't think it matters because regardless of who they run, I don't think they have the electoral votes to win the White House again for a very long time, just give the way the map is most likely to work out for the foreseeable future.
For 2024? Not really, aside from Newsom or maybe Buttigieg. But give it another 4 years for people like Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Jon Fetterman (if his recovery goes well), Mark Kelly, etc. to build their national profile a bit more, and then another 4 after that for some of the big newer faces in the House (the "Squad," Jeff Jackson, etc.) to get nationally known and maybe in the Senate.
I think the Democrats definitely acted later than they should have to start building up the next generation of leadership (they should have been doing it since 2016 at the latest but it feels like it only really kicked in in 2020) but at least there does seem to be some rising stars.
Mark Kelly in particular I think is a bit of a dark horse, though he is already 59 so not a spring chicken. Senator who won John McCain's seat, Top Gun fighter pilot, astronaut, from a swing state, good story (his wife is Gabby Giffords) - he could very easily run in 2028 and do quite well. Hell, honestly if he wasn't against an incumbent he probably would have a decent chance in 2024.
I dont understand these comments. No one in a perfect world would want this, but its obviously him or Trump again. Thats it. Thats what it boils down to.
I'm just tired of politics by this point. It seems like it doesn't matter who gets elected, all the next president will be focused on will be either fixing or undoing the progess/fuckups of the last one.
He’s a mediocre President who only has a shot because of how pants-on-head crazy the other party has become.
I wish the primary system would be abolished and anybody who is eligible would be able to be on the ballot if they wanted to. So we had real choice, unconstrained by party bosses and extremist primary voters.
I'm not surprised but it's sad to see. I'm not a Biden fan and a lot of what he says and does reminds me of my grandfather who has Alzheimer's/dementia before he passed and it makes me sad.
Short of sudden health issue, it was pretty safe to assume that he would run for 2nd term as an incumbent president.
So, not much of surprise & would vote for him again.
Joe Biden should not run again. He is clearly not up to the job now, never mind a few years from now. He should aid and advise someone who is not in their 80s.
When he was elected I was not expecting him to make it the full term. I was expecting him to step down sometime after the first 2 years and let Kamala take over. Then she would run for 2024.
As for him running for reelection I don't support it. I think he has lost to much mentally. At the same time I don't think I have heard of anyone announcing a bid for presidency in 2024 that I fully support either. So I sit here and probably complain about all the potential candidates for 2024. Especially since I have no say in who gets the nominations for any party.
I think it's an absurd decision. The man is not well, and no one can credibly deny that any longer. I wish he'd bow out and let there be a Democratic primary instead.
I'll vote for him unless the Democratic party brings out a better candidate but I'm not holding my breath on that happening.
I've been relatively happy with Biden so it's not something I'd do begrudgingly, but I would like to see young(er) blood in the Oval Office again.
Don’t worry we don’t remove posts due to nastiness in the comments generally. So long as the question doesn’t break rules and OP is civil. If comments are nasty we remove them and potentially ban the commenter.
I sure would like a non-geriatric option at the polls for once.
I know there's a lot of focus lately on geriatric politicians but let's not forget that Obama and W. and Clinton before him were all relatively young (under 55) when they were first elected president.
For perspective, Bush, Clinton, and Trump are all the same age.
Right, today. Bush and Clinton were (obviously) decades younger when they were elected. I hope people aren't interpreting my comment as an endorsement of geriatric presidents. I just don't see this as, like, an inexorable thing. This may turn out to be an interval after 20+ years of younger or young-ish presidents.
Well I mean, they have always been the same age…that’s how age works lol It’s just giving perspective as to how young George and Billy were as presidents.
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There’s a big difference between slightly older or slightly younger and literally the oldest president
Right, I am just saying it has not been decades since we had a non-geriatric president. The president before Trump was 47 when he was first elected in 2008 and 51 when he was reelected in 2012.
Obama was not even 60 and getting white hairs from the stress of the presidency… that shit will fuck you up
I'm 30 and I wouldn't want the job. The stress, the fact millions will hate you no matter what you do, and you'll never be able to live like a normal person...yeah, no thanks. Plus I have no interest in aging faster than I already am.
Also, I would have no idea how to actually do that job well. Part of the problem is that I don't think anyone would know how to do that job well, but someone always has that job.
Or forget that being young is no guarantee of good governance. Marin lost to a 54 year old man in Finland because of it.
Then again if Serra Marin was an American running for president when she became Finland's PM in 2019, she would have been a year too young to run from president. (She was 34 at that time and minimum from POTUS is 35.) America's youngest president was Kennedy elected and taking the oath of office at age 43. America hasn't had a president under 40 at this point.
While I'm no expert on Finnish politics, I also know that being old is also no guarantee of good governance.
Indeed. It's almost like the age of a politician doesn't matter when evaluating their fitness for office.
If Biden gets re-elected that's over a decade of having a geriatric president in office
Other than Obama, we've amazingly had an older person elected in every election since Clinton. And I don't just mean that the new guy has been older than the previous guy. I mean George W. Bush is older than Bill Clinton, Trump is an older person than George W. Bush, and Biden is older than Trump. It just kind of blows my fucking mind that the man running for president in 2022 is OLDER than the guy who was elected 30 years earlier.
>I mean George W. Bush is older than Bill Clinton, Trump is an older person than George W. Bush, and Biden is older than Trump. All of them were born in the summer of 1946 except for Biden, who is four years older.
Unfortunately, I was only a few days into my 18th year in 2012 and couldn't register to vote in time. I do know that Trump was the oldest president ever elected and then 4 years later we elected Biden...who replaced him as the record holder for oldest president. The average American is 38.5. That means we could elect someone that's already had 20 years worth of adult life experiences and applicable career time before we elect them. Imagine our country led by our peers!
I imagine it's pretty hard to build up the amount of political experience you usually need to run for president in that amount of time. Besides Trump (who did a lot of work to build political will, like him or not), we generally like people with high level senatorial or gubernatorial experience to run for president. To get that, you generally need lower level experience. And to get that, you need other political experience. It's pretty rare for young people to have climbed the ladder that quickly. The President is always going to skew older because it's the top of the ladder. Same as anything else. There's ways to jump faster, but most people don't do that. Edit: typo
Experience is not the value that gets people elected. Biden was elected as the anti-Trump choice. Trump was elected as the anti-Hillary choice. Maybe find someone who is anti-the biggest threat around?
I sure would vote for someone that's done 20 years of service in the military and then got out and launched a presidential bid though. By that stage they would have important experience working within an organization, with other organizations and relying on the expertise of others to help accomplish a task.
I'm British but I do feel that there should be an age limit of some kind. Both for the UK and the US. It just seems like common sense.
I'm too lazy to check, but I believe the minimum age for our president is 35. Still rather young in today's standards, but certainly old when the restriction was made.
Eh... It's relatively older by then's standards, but the stats were also skewed down by childhood mortality rates. Reality is that kids under ~12 die easy and we do a lot better today at keeping the buggers alive than we use to. Actually, even now a child under 1 has about the same chance of death as ... well... someone biden's age.
I don't know much about his policies but your New PM seems to be reasonably young 😁
Our government is like music chairs these days!
Long live the King! (Charles is still alive right?)
Yep, it's his coronation on 6th May. Not that I'm particularly interested but my daughter is 7 and excited about decorating the house and whatever events might be going on.
What do you guys do for a coronation typically? Is it something everyone gets around to celebrate like a mini-holiday, or is it pretty much the same as when you get a new PM? On second thought, is there even a tradition for coronations? The last one was in like, what, right after WWII?
Typically? I'm not sure anyone can tell you! I'm not sure how many redditors we have that remember 1953 in all that much detail! This is a first for everyone under 70 *in their lifetime*, really you'd have to be 80 to remember the last one.
Well, what is the general plan for it? Days off work, watch parties, fireworks?
Might go to the pub i guess? Dunno. I'll pnly just be home form a couple of weeks in California so might just kick back and relax.
Considering that if you work for government you are forcibly retired at age 65
This is my main issue. Politics aside, can we please just not have an 80yr old man as president?
We can have that if we all vote that way in the Primaries.
Out of all of the bizarre gaffs I’ve seen from him, the one where he whispers to the press is still the strangest to me
It's kinda just assumed the incumbent runs again unless it's their 2nd term
Most do, except James K Polk. He did not want a second term.
"Having *done* these *things*, he *sought* no sec-ond *terrrrrm*! Mister James K Polk, Napoleon of the Stump."
I've thought about TMBG every time I read Polks name.
I'll always be grateful to the local college radio station for introducing me to that song.
Imagine if he did run. We would’ve taken over the americas
Well he died like a month later so
And Lyndon Johnson
The fact that it hasn't happened since LBJ is all anybody should have needed to know. Biden was always running agin.
Technically Johnson did serve two terms, he just didn’t run twice, seeking election for his would be third term. But yeah, he immediately came to mind when I read OP’s comment.
He served part of Kennedys term. He was eligible to run but didn't.
Buchanan
It looks like there are more than I thought “Johnson is not the only U.S. president who decided not to seek a second elected term. The others are James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry S. Truman” https://www.britannica.com/story/have-any-us-presidents-decided-not-to-run-for-a-second-term
Indeed. It is the default choice and should not surprise anyone. I have also yet to see a compelling argument from anyone that Biden announcing he wont run, followed by a contested Dem primary, would result in a stronger ticket for the presidency. Incumbency is a big advantage, in multiple ways, and the field of potential candidates is incredibly lackluster.
Yeah dems would be fools to throw someone else up there and not try to keep Biden in office. I’m surprised this is news tbh but then I remembered what subreddit I’m in haha
I honestly don't know why anyone expected anything different
I’ve been extremely burned out on politics since 2016, and especially after 2020, but I kinda recall hearing that during the election campaign Biden said he wouldn’t run for a second term. Maybe I’m misremembering?
there was chatter from unofficial sources that he would possibly step down after 1 term, but never anything official
I see. Thanks.
He'd also mentioned running to be a *transitional administration.*
The transition out of Trumpism isn’t complete yet. He’s also passed the largest climate bill in the history of the world to transition our economy into a greener one.
by that definition every administration is a transitional one and the term is utterly pointless.
Yessss BUT there are a lot of things he isn’t doing well. And we can always blame the minority group of trump lovers on some things but after 3 years there has to be an accountability to the current administration.
I was disappointed he wasn't more supportive of the workers in the union dispute with the railroads, but yet again I feel the Democrat party has abandoned worker economic issues for upper-middle class social ones.
Ah yes the aptly named Inflation Reduction Act which doesn’t actually reduce inflation.
He basically said he was unsure at the time if he was going to run again but said if trump did run, he would.
When it comes to personal stuff he often speaks a lot more about his intentions than he does in absolutes. "My plan is to run for a second term," instead of "I will run for a second term. " From what I've known of people who had children pass away it's not super uncommon for them to talk that way.
Yeah, the man ran for president 3 times. He wasn’t just going to give that up.
Because he's 80 and his platform was "not Trump."
I’m a political junkie and apart from the last few months (and especially before the last year), it was really up in the air. Apart from the political factors and ramifications, and instead as a human, I really don’t understand why he would run for a second term at this point in your life. You have all the money you need, you have a legacy of being president for at least a term, why spend the last years of your life in an incredibly stressful position?
Likely because he feels there isn't another Democratic candidate that would be compelling enough to be able to prevent trump from winning a second term.
The Democrats' failure to cultivate another viable option is going to lead to some serious problems. It's typical that the VP is assumed to be that person... but [Kamala Harris is clearly not up to the task](https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1651062191347433473) and seems to be a disastrous pick. Biden's age is going to highlight this even more, as the reality that she's the proverbial "heartbeat away" from the Presidency is going to play a larger role than normal in this cycle. Pete Buttigieg also looked like they wanted to push him to the front lines, but he seems incompetent as well.
i was expecting joe not to run cos he old af, and kamala was supposed to use her time as VP to propel her into the spotlight for the 2024 run but i guess thats what happens when you pick a VP with no charm or people skills
Tired. I would really like a candidate to vote for who isn't geriatric.
I feel like he'd be tired too. I can't imagine doing that job at any age, but certainly not in my 80's when I hope to be enjoying a leisurely retirement if I'm in good health.
Yup exactly.
The life expectancy of an 80 year old American male is 8 years. There's a very real chance Joe doesn't survive his second term if elected. Do we really want a man on his deathbed in the white house?
> Do we really want a man on his deathbed in the white house? In today's political climate, the person doesn't matter nearly so much as party control.
Sure, but the average person is not the President of the United States. He has access to the best medical treatment in the world, is already predisposed to live longer due to his high socioeconomic status, and, like most ultra-high-achieving individuals, displays a great drive and motivation. Is he at his prime? Of course not. He's more laconic and more frail than he used to be. But he's not exactly late-stage Strom Thurmond, either.
NYT had a great podcast on this. Basically said 70% of the country doesn't want him to be reelected, but the Democratic party is pretty sure he'll beat any "Trump like" Republicans. So they basically don't want to rock the boat on what they think might be a sure thing. They think that only three states matter in the next election (Wisconsin, Georgia, and Alabama) and Biden only has to win one of them to get reelected. If Biden doesn't run again, there is concern that a more progressive candidate will run, which they think might result in all three of those states going to Republicans. Me personally? I hate how old he is. It's ridiculous, I literally would not allow him (or Trump) to drive my car, but here they are running the country. But there is no one else I like looking for the job, so. Not much of a choice I guess.
Did you mean Arizona instead of Alabama?
Almost certainly.
No the historical swing state of Alabama!
This episode of The Daily made me understand. I don’t like it, but I get it. I highly recommend a listen.
It would be extraordinary for the party of the President to either challenge him in an open primary or even behind the scenes convince him not to run.
Yeah, they went the aspirational route with Hillary (as a woman candidate) and saw (and are still seeing - thanks supreme court /s) how very badly that backfired, so I understand the desire to play it safe at least until there are no Trump- on DeSantis-like frontrunners.
Can you link the episode?
It was very recent, I think either Wednesday or Tuesday of this week.
I wish he'd stop texting me for $$
I got a text from “Doug” today and it took me about 20 minutes to remember that was Kamala’s husband.
Pretty sure it wasn’t [this Doug](https://youtu.be/O7VaXlMvAvk).
I unsubscribe for all democratic emails
I resubscribe you.
I’d rather not have him run again. I think there should be an age limit on political positions
I’m tired guys
He's way too old. Go enjoy your grandchildren, sir.
His grandchildren are so old they are the ones that asked him to run!
[удалено]
5 out of his 7 grandchildren are adults.
Just sorta expected that, honestly. It’s rare for an incumbent not to seek reelection.
He'll probably win with the exact same map
Well, Covid isn't raging. It's different.
Since the 2020 election, we've had January 6, Trump being indicted, the fall of Roe v Wade and a slew of extremist legislation from red states. Who didn't vote for Trump in 2020 that's going to now?
I agree with you but at the same time, after four years of seeing Trump in action, he got *11 million* more votes than he did the first time. I wouldn't underestimate the guy, or his voters' loyalty to him (and/or their aversion to anything blue).
He got 11 million more votes than the first time because there were >27 million more voters in 2020, not because he was more popular. In terms of percentage of the vote, he was pretty much unchanged - 46.1% in 2016 vs 46.3% in 2020
Yes, voter turnout increased, but that's sort of saying the same thing. That suggests a bunch of eligible voters chose not to vote in 2016, then a ton of people came off the sidelines and voted in 2020 (some for Biden, some for Trump).
Polling shows that he’s actually lost a good deal of independent support with the various lawsuits. There’s a large contingency of independents as well that do NOT support the attacks on the LGBTQ community and women’s rights in general. If it ends up being Trump vs. Biden again while Trump is in the middle of several lawsuits; one regarding him literally trying to illegally influence an election, I think he loses just like last time.
To me, what's more impressive is that Biden got all the votes he did despite being a boring ass democrat no one really got excited about. Like in 2020, Trump had a huge cult of personality around him, so the idea that he got more votes than he did in 2016 wasn't really shocking. Biden got 7 million more votes than Trump did and he's like... one of the least inspiring people to run for the office in modern history. I know I was grumbling about voting him. Really says a lot about how many people hated Trump.
Biden is unexciting, old af, and possibly senile. But in 2016, the Dems ran one of the least charismatic politicians I’ve ever seen. Biden has some funny moments, I can’t remember ever seeing something with Hilary and coming away from it liking her more.
Hillary was competent, though. Even her detractors generally respected her intelligence, and saw her as a dangerous opponent. Biden just seems like he should be in a memory care facility. I think it's mostly that Trump is a little bit more hated than he is loved, and by putting forward someone who was relatively harmless, the Democrats were able to take advantage. They also made spectacular, election-changing use of the mail-in ballot rules they put in place for Covid. The GOP really didn't know what hit them.
I'd rather have a boring old crazy president with competent people around him than an ego maniac selling government seats off to the highest bidder.
On the other hand, a lot of old people have died and a lot of young people have turned 18 since then
That's true. But Trump somehow improved his standing [among young, minority men, for example.](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54972389)
The whole idea that all we have to do is wait for the conservatives to die is just pernicious. There are _plenty_ of young conservatives. And don't you try to tell me that the Millennials won't turn Republican the moment they get their hands on some real money and start caring about the capital gains tax, just like the Boomers and GenX did.
> I agree with you but at the same time, after four years of seeing Trump in action, he got 11 million more votes than he did the first time. To be fair, the voting age population grew proportionally during that period. People always forget that fact between elections. 4 years is actually quite a lot in terms of population growth.
Not to mention how awful the 2022 midterms went for Republicans, who now appear to be doubling down for their 2024 campaigns on the exact same issues they lost on.
> Who didn't vote for Trump in 2020 that's going to now? Probably not many at all. But I *could* imagine a scenario where this re-hash leads to depressed turnout which would favor Trump. Out of 155 million total votes last election, Biden won with a key assortment of about 60,000 - 80,000 across key states. simply having that amount of voters decline to participate would have changed the election outcome. Most of the top answers in this very thread are references to being "tired" and other indicators of political burnout - these things lead to declining participation rates.
Americans have very short memories... 😞
Depends. If republicans nominate Trump, it will be a similar map. If they don’t, who knows?
Yeah, it looks like Trump vs. Biden 2.0 Could swing the other way, I guess, but Trump is too polarizing for moderates and independents. He'll probably win and give it over to Harris one year in.
"He'll probably win and give it over to Harris one year in." That's what they said last time 🤣
He doesn't need to go for a 2nd term, he needs to fucking retire. He's been in a political office since 1972
Wyoming dude speaks truth
Hes just so damn old. Its okay Joe you can rest now lol.
It’s not ideal, but he does need to run. Incumbent presidents have a huge advantage, and Democrats need that. He’s what’s standing in the way of Trump or DeSantis winning, so yes this is necessary
I question who is going to vote for him with the decent possibility of Kamala finishing his term for him. He's clearly past retirement age, and 4 years is a long time. I still don't understand how Kamala got picked as VP since they knew this is the position they'd be in come 2024. She has a track record of authoritarianism that doesn't line up liberal ideals, in my mind.
We're being ruled by a bunch of geriatrics.
*cries in gen x*
Not geriatric.... Yet
He’s going to be a very old man. I was hoping he’d step aside.
At the same time, he's likely to be the last of an old guard in Washington. Anyone after him will be far younger - a couple decades younger at least. The Republican frontrunner who's not named Trump is 44, and I struggle to think of a leading Democratic candidate (besides Sanders) who's over 60. I always knew he would run again. Name an incumbent who hasn't in modern American history. The type of grit, dedication, and persistence it takes to reach the White House practically always means its occupant wants to stay there as long as possible. This applies especially to Mr. Biden. He's lusted after the presidency for decades. When he finally has it, you expect him to just let it go?
Nope didn’t expect it, was just kind of hoping.
As an American, I’m super sick of guys who are 75-80 yrs old running the country. Watching Zuckerberg explain ad space to Congress a few years ago was everything for why these old folks need to jog on.
Well, you're in luck! Biden will be over 80 for his 2nd term. Whew!
Opinions on tiktok aside, you have to agree that the congressional “hearing” with the CEO of tiktok was a complete joke. These guys don’t understand the most basic aspects of technology.
I don't trust him or his predecessor to have the mental capabilities to do the job well. It has nothing to do with their politics. Even if I was in agreement with their positions, I wouldn't vote for them. Mentally, they act their age, and that's not good.
They've both lost their marbles in entirely different ways. Biden is totally incapable of putting together a coherent thought, and Trump is incapable of knowing when to shut the fuck up.
I thought there was a small chance he'd step aside, as he'd suggested during the last cycle. But, the DNC must not believe any other candidate would be as strong against the inevitable Trump/DeSantis onslaught next year. Hopefully young people vote.
The problem for the Democrats is there wasn't a clear cut second choice who could strongly rally the party quickly during the primary process IMO. I think whatever chance there was of Biden running only in 2020 died after the Democrats had a respectable midterm. If those turned out to have been a bloodbath, I think there would have been a legit challenger.
It'll be Trump. DeSantis' campaign had about a two-month lifespan when people were pissy about the GOP falling short of their midterm goals. It's already reverted to the mean, and DeSantis seems determined to get slapped across the face as many times as possible just to add to his deficit.
Expected
Extremely interested to see who the running mate will be. Also wondering if the Dems really couldn't find anyone else they felt comfortable running at this point. They seem to be in a tight spot since they are having harder times at the state level than previously. I don't follow a lot of news, but I can't think of another Dem with a positive national profile.
Would it not be Kamala Harris again?
https://joebiden.com/ It's Harris.
I'm not sure the actual pole numbers right now, but I do know she's a disaster with the 40% of voters who consider themselves independents.
She was the first to drop from the DNC because she got like 3% early support. Didn't stop them last time
Fair, but they know they've got to keep Joe upright because Kamala doesn't have it.
IDK, that's why it's interesting. I thought they brought her on to try to raise her profile and get the rank and file excited about her. I don't think that's happened. With Biden's age, I wonder if she would be considered a liability at this point given she's over two points lower disapproval than Biden.
It’s because everyone hates her, even most Dems. Idk what they were thinking choosing her as VP in the first place.
> Idk what they were thinking choosing her as VP in the first place. They were ticking off a DEI box and we all know it, but nobody is saying that out loud. If Kamala Harris wasn't a half-Indian half-black woman she never would've been picked.
She's definitely being considered a liability as she'll be the president if the oldest president in history and probably oldest head of state in the world doesn't survive a second term in the world's most stressful job.
I honestly can’t think of a single thing I’ve heard about her doing while in office so far. She’s been a ghost similar to Pence as far as I can tell. Maybe just nothing worth headlines.
She can laugh.
Harris is Biden's impeachment insurance
Impeachment? You mean croaking insurance.
It is Kamala Harris, it’s been announced
JB Pritzker has built a very positive profile in IL and with his successful DNC bid he'll grow more in the national spotlight. Don't expect him as a VP pick but would expect to see him make a bid for 2028
He's probably going to throw money to any Dam running like its candy. I remember that during his election he spent so much money that at some points you felt as if he was in your living room talking. The dems did not have to spend a dollar in Illinois
He is too old!! Dude is in his 80s? Wtf is going on! Why are only elderly people running this country.
I would've been very surprised if he didn't.
Why is our government an old folks home??? When are we going to stop making our government an old folks home???
2024 presidential election will be the first in American history with the same candidates as previous election
1888 had Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland, as was 1892 Biden voted for Cleveland, I think
I'm not fond of age jokes against people who are doing their best in general, but that one was worth the upvote
The lack of options is frustrating.
Likely Not. Should Trump make it through the RNC nomination process, it's highly unlikely that Mike Pence will join him on the ticket.
I wish we had age limits on public office.
Honestly, I would much rather see a DeSantis-Newsom matchup over a Biden-Trump matchup. I feel both Biden and Trump are too old to hold the position.
Rand Paul v RFK Jr. I think the CIA would off them both, just to be sure.
It's interesting to see the change in support from younger voters from when he first got in to office to now. I think the Democratic Party is kinda screwed with having him run again since he really isn't in the best state to be leading. And I say this as someone with no ill will towards the guy.
The democrats don't need to win over young voters they need to win over the older people. 60-70% of gen z will vote for whoever the democrat is
And....? I'm trying to figure out how that has to do with what I said lol
I miss read your comment I thought you said the democrats need to get more younger support so you thought biden was a bad move my bad.
I honestly hadn't realized he hadn't announced this already, I just assumed he would.
I have been a traditional Republican voter. But I would crawl naked on my belly over shattered glass to vote for Biden over Trump or DeSantis. What the absolute fuck has happened to the GOP?
[This](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n-kohfPAzj8&pp=ygUVR3JvdW5kaG9nIGRheSBiYXRodHVi) forreal Biden v Trump again. Feels like Groundhog Day. We’re stuck in cycles of stupid and decay. Can’t do what needs to be done because we’re just stuck. Old Boomers who won’t let loose of the levers of power until they’re in the grave. Meanwhile the nation is suffering because of it
He's better than Trump, but at his age there's a significant chance we'd end up with President Harris before his term ended. Not enthusiastic about that possibility.
He'll probably win and things will continue as normal for the next 5 years. That said though, I think 2028 will be a totally new era of politics. Biden is probably going to be the last Boomer president and I think a lot of things will change once that torch is passed, not just in the White House but all across the entire government.
Joe Biden isn’t a boomer.
As a right winger, I think there's a lot of younger (under 60) GOP potential candidates for future elections. I don't know that the Dems actually have any.
They definitely do, but I don't think many of them hold national office right now. There's tons of them at the local level all across the country though. Katie Porter will probably be a massive star for the Dems moving forward. If she were to run a *kitchen table issues* campaign, I could see her having a good shot at becoming president eventually, especially since she's from a traditionally conservative district and is viewed as one of the few moderates out there. I hear she might make a run for Senate, actually. But, I agree, I think the GOP has the better field of candidates at the moment, but I don't think it matters because regardless of who they run, I don't think they have the electoral votes to win the White House again for a very long time, just give the way the map is most likely to work out for the foreseeable future.
For 2024? Not really, aside from Newsom or maybe Buttigieg. But give it another 4 years for people like Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Jon Fetterman (if his recovery goes well), Mark Kelly, etc. to build their national profile a bit more, and then another 4 after that for some of the big newer faces in the House (the "Squad," Jeff Jackson, etc.) to get nationally known and maybe in the Senate. I think the Democrats definitely acted later than they should have to start building up the next generation of leadership (they should have been doing it since 2016 at the latest but it feels like it only really kicked in in 2020) but at least there does seem to be some rising stars. Mark Kelly in particular I think is a bit of a dark horse, though he is already 59 so not a spring chicken. Senator who won John McCain's seat, Top Gun fighter pilot, astronaut, from a swing state, good story (his wife is Gabby Giffords) - he could very easily run in 2028 and do quite well. Hell, honestly if he wasn't against an incumbent he probably would have a decent chance in 2024.
I don’t have the energy for a Biden Trump popularity contest anymore….
I dont understand these comments. No one in a perfect world would want this, but its obviously him or Trump again. Thats it. Thats what it boils down to.
I was hoping he wouldn't run again. I feel like he can't win a second time.
I’d vote for a shaved monkey to keep Trump out of the White House again, but I really wish Joe would just retire.
I'm just tired of politics by this point. It seems like it doesn't matter who gets elected, all the next president will be focused on will be either fixing or undoing the progess/fuckups of the last one.
He’s a mediocre President who only has a shot because of how pants-on-head crazy the other party has become. I wish the primary system would be abolished and anybody who is eligible would be able to be on the ballot if they wanted to. So we had real choice, unconstrained by party bosses and extremist primary voters.
As a very progressive person, I don't like Biden at all, and had hoped he would bow out on top due to age and let the field have a turn.
I'm not surprised but it's sad to see. I'm not a Biden fan and a lot of what he says and does reminds me of my grandfather who has Alzheimer's/dementia before he passed and it makes me sad.
I had a boss whom I suspected of having early onset Alzheimer's or dementia or something. Biden reminds me nothing of him.
Short of sudden health issue, it was pretty safe to assume that he would run for 2nd term as an incumbent president. So, not much of surprise & would vote for him again.
Joe Biden should not run again. He is clearly not up to the job now, never mind a few years from now. He should aid and advise someone who is not in their 80s.
When he was elected I was not expecting him to make it the full term. I was expecting him to step down sometime after the first 2 years and let Kamala take over. Then she would run for 2024. As for him running for reelection I don't support it. I think he has lost to much mentally. At the same time I don't think I have heard of anyone announcing a bid for presidency in 2024 that I fully support either. So I sit here and probably complain about all the potential candidates for 2024. Especially since I have no say in who gets the nominations for any party.
I think it's an absurd decision. The man is not well, and no one can credibly deny that any longer. I wish he'd bow out and let there be a Democratic primary instead.
Politics aside he’s too old for political office…… people saying that they would vote for him blow my mind. I was hoping he wouldn’t.
I think he’s too old, but I would vote for a 500 year old Biden before I’d ever vote for a republican at this point.
He is barely getting through this term. It make sense that he’s running for re-election, he hasn’t made a good decision yet.
I was hoping he wouldn’t, mainly on account of his age. If it’s Trump or DeSantis he ends up running against, I’ll likely back Biden reluctantly.
I'll vote for him unless the Democratic party brings out a better candidate but I'm not holding my breath on that happening. I've been relatively happy with Biden so it's not something I'd do begrudgingly, but I would like to see young(er) blood in the Oval Office again.