The White House marked Joe Biden’s 81st birthday on Monday by defending him against attacks on his age and insisting he has used his vast experience to deliver results for the American people.
The nation’s oldest president plans to celebrate his birthday with family in Nantucket over Thanksgiving.
But the chorus of Democratic voices calling on him to ditch the 2024 race is only growing as poll after poll shows Americans think he’s too old to be a candidate anymore.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did nothing to dispel the idea that the White House is in a defensive posture when she was questioned about the data during her daily briefing.
“What I’m saying to you is that, you know, we’re not going to change the minds of Americans,” said the public face of the White House and the official charged with spreading his message.
‘I get it. Americans are going to feel how they feel and we are going to respect that.”
“We are not going to change the minds of Americans,” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the public face of the White House and the official charged with spreading the message.
President Joe Biden turned 81 on Monday, but his presidency has been buffeted by polls that suggest Americans are unimpressed by his achievements
A day earlier, a national NBC News poll showed Biden’s approval rating had fallen to 40 percent, the lowest of his presidency.
Other polls have shown a clear majority of American voters think he is too old to run again, amid reports that officials have launched the “bubble wrap” operation to shield the president from public stumbles.
“There is no alarm happening behind the scenes and I am certainly not going to comment on anyone who has something to say,” Jean-Pierre emphasized.
Over the weekend, David Axelrod, the Democratic political strategist who pushed Biden to become vice president, said he should consider stepping aside.
When asked about the comments, Jean-Pierre said: “It’s not my job to think… to tell people what to think, right?
“Whether it’s about the American people or whether it’s about political analysts or, like your question about David Axelrod… it’s just not my place to speak about that.
“What I can say is how we see this, what our perspective is. Our perspective is that it’s not about age, it’s about the president’s experience.”
On Monday morning, he brought his full political experience to bear, issuing a statement marking Transgender Day of Remembrance and taking time to manage the U.S. response to the crisis in Israel by pardoning two Thanksgiving turkeys.
But he managed to confuse pop stars Taylor Swift and Britney Spears, giving even more fodder to detractors who wanted to portray him as a confused old man.
In 2009, Vice President Joe Biden speaks with senior adviser David Axelrod during a meeting in the Oval Office. He has warned that Biden should rethink running in 2024
A New York Times/Siena College poll showed Biden trailing Trump in five of six swing states
Jean-Pierre instead pointed to Biden’s legislative success while managing a series of foreign crises.
‘The proof is in the pudding, right. The president has used his experience recently to pass more bipartisan legislation than any other president,” she said.
Last week we gauged Axelrod The New York Times and Siena College showing the 80-year-old case against Donald Trump in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
“Only Joe Biden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will become the Democratic Party’s nominee,” Axelrod said on X, formerly Twitter.
‘What he has to decide is whether that is wise; Whether it is in HIS interest or in that of the country?’
He reiterated his concerns in a piece published Sunday, saying he hoped the White House had not convinced itself that the polls were wrong.
“He thinks he can cheat nature here and that’s really risky,” he said.
“They have a real problem if they count on Trump to win for them. I remember Hillary doing that too.”