CNN anchor Chris Wallace suggested Monday that a growing number of Democrats will not support President Joe Biden in 2024.
Wallace was responding to an opinion piece published by the New York Times, arguing recent legislative victories of the Biden administration should “give [Biden] the confidence to leave” knowing he had made his mark. In response, Wallace pointed to a CNN poll finding that 75% of Democrats want a different nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
“Look, obviously the success after a lot of stalemate, the success of the last month or so by Joe Biden is impressive and it might change the narrative and will talk about everything he has accomplished,” Wallace said.
“Whether or not a large percentage of that 75%, three-quarters of Democrats are gonna say ‘you know what? I’m really excited by the idea of a guy who on the next inauguration day would be 82 running for election again, I’m not so sure about that,” he continued.
The CNN poll mentioned by Wallace found that 24% of likely Democratic voters want another candidate because they do not believe Biden can win against the Republican candidate in 2024, while 32% do not want him to be reelected. The poll surveyed 1,002 likely voters between July 22 and July 24 with a 6.7 margin of error.
A New York Times/Siena poll also found that 64% of Democratic voters want a different candidate in 2024, with 33% and 32% citing age and job performance as their top reasons respectively. (RELATED: ‘Shut Their Twitters Off’: Marty Walsh Rips Democrats Not Supporting Biden For 2024)
Several prominent Democrats, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, have either been silent or have publicly stated the party is in need of a new generation leadership. Democratic Missouri Rep. Cori Bush declined to answer whether Biden should run for a second term when pressed by a reporter at her campaign headquarters in late July.
“I don’t want to answer that question, ” Bush said. “He’s the president. He has the right to run for a second term.”
When the Daily Caller asked all 50 Democratic senators if they plan to support Biden in June, only five, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, answered “yes.” The other 45 Senate Democrats did not respond.