Former President Donald Trump is taking his long-running attacks on Joe Biden’s mental well-being to a new level — and is now bluntly predicting a bombshell shakeup to the upcoming campaign.
Trump said he very much doubts that Biden “will even be running” by next November’s election.
In the wide-ranging radio interview on Wednesday, Trump did not hold back in questioning Biden’s cognitive abilities and decision-making capacity as president. He alleged that Biden is being controlled by “a bunch of Marxists” and “fascists” in his administration.
“He has no clue, he doesn’t, if you look at him, he doesn’t know where he is,” Trump stated directly. “You know that, I know that, everybody knows that.”
The former president then took his mental fitness criticisms of Biden a step further: “And I doubt he will even be running frankly, I just can’t even imagine it.”
Trump’s stark prediction that the 81-year-old Biden may not actually be on the ballot in 2024 due to concerns over his age and cognitive abilities is a bombshell prediction with just over 5 months in the race.
It also injects a new line of speculation into the 2024 election cycle – that Biden could withdraw from the race before it even reaches full swing due to Trump and Republican allies growing leads in the polls.
Trump’s comments come amid the Biden campaign increasingly hitting back at Trump’s own occasional stumbles.
Over the weekend, Biden’s team posted video clips highlighting moments when Trump appeared to freeze up during speeches or stumbled while leaning on a podium.
Trump fired back on his Truth Social platform, calling one such clip pushed by Biden’s camp “a fake story.” He defended the podium stumble by boasting of his “good reflexes and strength” and contrasting it to Biden’s alleged lack of those qualities.
“JOE BIDEN IS NOT TOO OLD TO BE PRESIDENT – NOT EVEN CLOSE – BUT HE IS TOO INCOMPETENT AND CORRUPT!,” Trump wrote in another blistering social media post.
It’s a strategy that could have benefits whether Biden stays in the race or withdraws — by either dampening Democratic enthusiasm or winning over independents from his “mentally unfit” opponent.
One recent analysis noted Biden “remains behind” Trump by a significant amount at this point in the election cycle – a deficit that historically has been extremely difficult for an incumbent president to overcome. It also highlighted Biden’s job approval rating being stuck at around 40% – “lower than Trump’s was at the same point.”
That poor positioning has led to growing discussions in the Democratic Party of Biden bowing out before the DNC convention in late August if he cannot recover by a proposed June debate with Trump.
“The party cannot force him out under the convention rules. He will have won almost all the delegates, and they are pledged to – and often directly selected by – Biden,” the analysis stated.
“Biden can only leave the ticket if he chooses to.”
Or if Biden’s handlers can convince him that it’s what he wants, of course.