President Joe Biden should be re-elected to the Presidency in 2024 despite the concerns about his age, effectiveness and approval.
Biden has faced a long line of questions regarding his aspirations in 2024, however, many of these counterintuitive talking points used against the President can be quickly debunked.
Biden, who is the oldest President in American history has recently turned 80, causing concern for his age during his quest for a second term. At the end of his first term, Biden will be 82 and if he is re-elected, he’ll be 86 at the end of his second term. The fact is that despite Biden’s age, he recently passed his annual physical health test therefore this idea that he is unfit to serve is totally false.
The attacks on his age have strengthened recently, as one of his GOP opponents, Nikki Haley recently called for mental capacity tests for politicians. Ambassador Haley said upon announcing her candidacy that “We’ll have term limits for Congress. And mandatory mental-competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”
Besides his age, the President has faced criticism for his approval ratings as well, which have plummeted since the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021. Despite his approval ratings being low, he led the Democratic Party to great midterm election results that were expected to be among the worst for Democrats in history.
To add to the topic of delivered results, President Biden was able to get strong legislative accomplishments such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill for millions of Americans despite the ultra-polarization of our country with slim majorities in Congress. The argument is often made, even back during the 2020 primaries that the President is not progressive enough, but he truly has been one of the boldest and most effective Presidents of our lifetime.
For students in particular, he has fought tirelessly over the past two years to cancel student debt. Part of his campaign platform was to make college more affordable for the next generation, acknowledging that the price of higher education is not what it was just thirty years ago.
The activist and author Marianne Williamson who briefly sought the Democratic nomination in 2020 recently announcedshe will primary the President in 2024. While her progressive ideas may be appealing to some within the party, her candidacy should not be taken seriously, especially during the year of an incumbent President. An incumbent President has also never been defeated in a primary, though Ronald Reagan came close to defeating President Gerald Ford in 1976.
As the President gears to announcing his widely expected re-election bid, young people must understand that 2024 will be just as consequential as 2020. While President Biden may not have accomplished all he set out to do so far, he will likely be remembered as one of the most effective presidents of our lifetime, and he is an ally to our generation and the next.
