Former WH Advisor David Gergen Thinks Biden Too Old To Run In 2024

Former White House advisor to four U.S. Presidents, David Gergen, whipped out a little tough love on Democrats who might be anticipating a 2024 reelection bid for President Joe Biden.

Biden, who first ran for President 34 years ago in 1988, was already the oldest person to become President at 78 years old. 

He will be well into his eighties should he decide to stand for re-election in 2024. 

Gergen, who is 80 himself and served Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, threw some cold water on the notion.

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Veiled Meaning Or Does This Apply To Others?

On Tuesday, during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day,” Gergen, who is now a senior political analyst for the network, explained why a President governing in his eighties might not be a good idea,

“We have an election coming up in 2024, in which is very possible that we will have Donald Trump facing off against Joe Biden. If one of those people wins the presidency, he will be governing while he’s in his 80 year … age. We’ve never seen anything like that before. And frankly, I think it’s a real risk. You know, I just turned 80, and I can just tell you John, you lose a step. Your judgment is not quite as clear as it was. There’s a variety of other things you can’t do much about and to put somebody in that office with those kinds of vulnerabilities and giving them four years, we don’t know where things will go.”

While keeping in mind the word games Democrats love to play with willing participants in the media, one might take the meaning of David Gergen talking about presidents in their eighties as a veiled comment against former President Donald Trump seeking another term as well.

But Donald Trump aside, Gergen has hit on a realistic and valid point, America’s ruling class is getting up in age. Let’s do a little math, currently, Joe Biden is 79 years old. In 2024, he will be 81. Should he win another term, that would put him at 85 years old at the end of his second term. 

In fairness, Donald Trump is 75. Should he run and win reelection, he would be 77. At the end of his term he would be 81.

Gergen continued, arguing that it might be time for a new generation:

“I think that the baby boomer population general, the people … who were born after the war ended, they’ve had their time in the sandbox now and governing. And I think, frankly, that while there have been some good things, there’s generally been a sense of disappointment about, you know, how well they’ve governed … how badly they’ve governed.” 

When asked by the hosts if neither Trump or Biden should not run again, Gergen replied, “I believe it would be in the best interest of the country for someone in their eighties to step back, regardless of party.” 

In an interview with CBS’s Robert Costa on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Costa asked Gergen, “Would the same message apply in the House, and in the Senate? Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi?”

Gergen’s answer, “Absolutely.” 

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Biden Poll Numbers Do Not Bode Well For Reelection

Before “lunch bucket Joe” fires up the “No Malarkey” bus for a second time, he might want to take a look at his poll numbers. They are not pretty. A Washington Times article quotes a recent Rassmussen/Heartland Institute poll.

Only 25% of likely voters have a “very favorable” opinion of Biden, compared with 44% having a “very unfavorable” opinion. It doesn’t get much better when broken down by key Democrat constituencies. Just 43% of Hispanic and female voters have a favorable opinion. Among black likely voters, just 39% want him to seek reelection.

In a rematch of the 2020 election, currently, Donald Trump would handily win reelection by a margin of 50% to 36%. Should Trump sit out 2024, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would get the GOP nomination, he would beat Biden 46% to 35%.

Joe Biden is underwater every issue important to Americans as well. According to Real Clear Politics poll averages, on Biden’s handling of the economy he is at 37.1% approve 59.2% disapprove.

On immigration, 34.5% approve 59.8% disapprove. On foreign policy, 40.3% approve 53.0% disapprove.

RELATED: Report: 2/3 Of Americans Now Living Paycheck-To-Paycheck As Inflation Again Exceeds Estimates 

The Democrat Bench

If Joe Biden decides to pass on 2024, what does the bench for Democrat Party candidates look like? In a word, shallow.

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According to a Washington Post analysis from mid-April, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is next in line. He checks off a box for the Democrats as an openly gay candidate. Vice President Kamala Harris comes in after Buttigieg. This could be because her poll numbers are worse than Biden’s.

Rounding out the bench for the Democrats is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (also a minority being a “Native-American”), Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and in a possible attempt at comedy, California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Another word comes to mind when seeing this all-star WaPo line-up for the Democrats in 2024. That word is “reaching.”