White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday dismissed polling showing concern over President Biden’s age, and that a majority of voters in his own party don’t want him to run for another term.
During the daily White House press briefing, one reporter specifically asked Jean-Pierre about those concerns, and noted a CBS poll released earlier in the day that found only 22% of Democrats were “excited” about a Biden re-election bid. The poll also found the nearly half of Democrats who say they don’t want him to run are overwhelmingly concerned about the 80-year-old president’s age.
“When it comes to age, it’s the same thing that we heard in 2020. Right? We heard that over and over in 2020. And if you look at what the president has done this past two years, he’s been able to deliver and get things done. Right? Where Republicans are trying to – Republicans in Congress, Republicans on the other side of Pennsylvania – are trying to pull us back, not move us forward,” Jean-Pierre responded.
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Appearing to avoid directly answering the question, she went on to list what she said were Biden’s accomplishments while in office, and claimed Republicans “literally have not been able to get things done,” before turning to the subject of polls.
“We understand what the polls are saying. I will say this: in 2022, let’s not forget more Americans voted for this president than any other president in history. And let’s not forget, in 2022, the midterm election. Against all odds, right? Against everything that we were being told, that this president had one of the most successful midterm elections for a Democratic president in 60 years,” Jean-Pierre said.
“We were able to stop that red wave. That did not happen. And we were able to hold on to the Senate. And so that’s what I’ll lay out. And that’s how I will deal with the question that you just asked me,” she added.
Despite the poor polling, Biden officially announced he would run for a second term early Tuesday morning after months of speculation over whether he would ultimately toss his hat into the ring.
He is currently facing Democratic primary challenges from environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and spiritual guru and self-help author Marianne Williamson.