By Debra J. Saunders / syndicated columnist
Former President Trump did not have a good night Tuesday.
As President Biden noted during a Wednesday press briefing, “While the press and pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen.”
The fact that Democrats outperformed the usual midterm losses apparently gave him hope, because he also told the press corps, “our intention is to run again.”
Biden also said he would not decide until he discussed another presidential run with his family. He’ll probably let his decision be known after the holidays. He’s in “no hurry,” he added.
During the family confab, one would hope that family members bring up the president’s age. Biden turns 80 this month.
Later Biden said that he is not concerned about an Edison Research exit poll done for CNN and other networks that shows more than two-thirds of recent voters think Biden should not run in 2024. Thus, Biden revealed that he’s not only too old to run for reelection, but also out of touch to the public’s view on a suitable age for his job. He’s in age-is-just-a-number denial even as he occupies the most challenging job in the world.
By the way, Biden’s approval rating is 42.1 percent according to the RealClearPolitics polling average; 54.6 percent disapprove of his job performance.
The tone-deaf Biden also said he would make sure that Trump, who is 76, would not win the White House in 2024.
Oddly, Biden was lifting up Trump just as the former president’s endorsement no longer is a must-have for GOP candidates.
The Big Lie about Trump winning in 2020 proved to be toxic for candidates like gubernatorial wannabes Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania and Tudor Dixon in Michigan, as well as Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire Senate candidate Dan Bolduc.
The days of conservative hopefuls going hat in hand to Mar-a-Lago to beg for Trump’s support are dwindling.
Biden dodged a question as to whether he’d rather run against Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Biden said it would be fun seeing the two Republicans challenge each other.
DeSantis enjoyed his own victory lap after beating Democrat Charlie Crist, a former Florida governor, by nearly 20 points. DeSantis has come a long way since 2018 when he won by less than half a point against scandal-plagued Democrat Andrew Gillum.
DeSantis is popular because he opened up the Sunshine State in the heat of widespread covid closures; a decision he attributed to choosing “facts over fear.” Many Republicans look to the governor not just as a good candidate to turn the page on the Trump years, but also as a savvy choice for the GOP in the future. He’s Trump, but younger and with discipline. His victory speech lasted less than nine minutes.
And as DeSantis, 44, relished his win, his supporters chanted words that should give Biden and Trump pause. Their chant: “Two more years.”
Debra J. Saunders is a fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Eamil her at dsaunders@discovery.org.
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