Barack Obama is concerned about Joe Biden's prospects in next year's election and “fears that Democrats could well lose,” a report says.
With Donald Trump slightly ahead in polls and concerns about the president's age, immigration, Israeli policy and economic plan weakening confidence, a person familiar with Obama's thinking said the former president is worried, according to the Wall Street Journal .
In the RealClearPolitics poll average, Trump leads by 2 points.
Obama “knows it will be a close race,” the source said, and “thinks the Democrats could well lose the 2024 election.”
Obama fears that “the alternative is quite dangerous for democracy,” the person said.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden are seen at the White House in September 2022. Obama is now said to be worried that Biden could lose in 2024
Biden, seen Thursday, faces strong campaign winds, a person close to Obama's views said. Obama is pictured on November 3rd
A new Portal/Ipsos poll this week, like many other polls over the past month, showed Donald Trump in the lead.
Even more worrisome for Democrats, the poll shows independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. taking votes away from Biden, with 60 percent of voters saying they want another option when it comes to the 2024 presidential election.
But next year's upcoming election rematch between Biden and Trump would be hard-fought, with both candidates facing significant vulnerabilities that could cost them the White House.
Biden, 81, continues to be plagued by voters' doubts about the strength of the economy, as well as worries about the security of the U.S.-Mexico border and worries about crime.
Trump, 77, faces his own troubles, including four criminal trials on a range of charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his handling of classified documents.
A conviction before the Nov. 5, 2024 election could cost him significant support, the Portal/Ipsos poll found.
The poll found that Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination by a wide margin.
Obama and Biden in October 2010, when Biden was vice president
The ongoing investigation into the business dealings of the president's son Hunter Biden and the impeachment inquiry announced this week will continue to cause headaches next year.
Immigration will also continue to be a significant problem, with cities like New York and Chicago struggling to accommodate the influx.
“I want the president to do better,” said Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from a district near the Texas border, adding that he wanted better poll numbers for the president “because it affects everyone.”
Biden faces a potentially game-changing vote on aid to Israel and Ukraine in the coming days. Republicans want to make changes to border policy and immigration in return, and the deal is in jeopardy.
Securing funding will be a lifeline for Ukraine, but could lead Biden to make damaging concessions on immigration and return to Trump-era policies, which would hurt him in the eyes of some voters.
Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said the president was working hard on national security issues, such as helping Israel fight Hamas and strengthening border security.
He said Biden is working “even as House Republicans are having such a hard time keeping up that they're already on vacation.”
Trump sits at the defense table with his lawyers at the New York Supreme Court on December 7th
Trump told his fans on December 16 that immigrants from Africa, Asia and around the world were “flowing into our country.” He even claimed that “no one even looks at them, they just walk in.”
The House of Representatives began its recess on Thursday, while the Senate returns to Washington next week.
Biden advisers dismiss the polls' relevance to the extent that they are removed from the election, citing a common Biden refrain: “Don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.”
They believe voters choosing between Biden and Trump will reject Trump because of his legal turmoil and continued spread of election lies.
They also hope that Republicans continue to disagree with the electorate on the issue of abortion – most voters do not support the party's extremely hard line – and that strong economic data will finally be felt at home.
“Recent data certainly gives us further evidence that the width of the runway for a soft landing has become much larger,” Lael Brainard, the director of the National Economic Council, said on a call with reporters Friday.
She highlighted the continued low unemployment figures, a decline in the inflation rate and wage growth.