It’s the holiday season and at the White House, everyone is singing the same refrain: “Joe Biden, too old… tired… out of energy and inspiration? Let’s see!” He would be inexhaustible, and it is his team that would not be able to maintain its pace.
I have doubts. Some days I feel like he’s aging visibly, before our eyes. His speeches are whispered, mumbled; he is confused and struggles to find the thread; he walks by placing one foot flat in front of the other so as not to take a wrong step, falter and – oh horror! – fall in public.
The man dedicated his life to the American republic: senator at age 30 and for 36 years; vice-president for 8 years; he now finds himself, at age 81, in the final year of his first term as president.
However, this republic and its democracy are threatened, he judges, by Donald Trump, and Biden seems ready to prolong the sacrifice to prevent him from returning to the White House. “If Trump wasn’t the candidate, I’m not sure I would be,” he admitted about 10 days ago at a campaign fundraising event outside Boston.
ONE SACRIFICE TOO MANY
I did not simply understand from this admission from Biden that Trump worries him to the point where he sees no other solution than to pay a little more personally to break the beast once and for all.
What I also hear in the Democratic president’s comments is that it wouldn’t take long to torture him to make him admit that he is at the end of his rope. Colleagues from AXIOS, the American online media, reported at the beginning of the week that the legal troubles of his son, Hunter, are draining him of vital energy.
Hunter Biden was already facing a criminal charge for possessing an illegal weapon; Last week, new charges hit him, including not having paid nearly a million and a half dollars in taxes, charges that, at worst, could land him in prison for 17 years.
HEAVY CONSCIOUSNESS
Joe Biden, again according to AXIOS, would have suggested to those close to him that if he had not run in 2020, Hunter would never have been the target of criminal prosecution and would not have become the head of conservative media .
Now place these realities side by side: the devastation of knowing oneself responsible for the daily miseries of one’s son; the normal fatigue of being 81; finally, the awareness – I can’t believe it doesn’t work on him – that he will not serve a second term.
Insert, in parallel, the feeling of having turned the country around after the Trump years, the successful exit from the worst pandemic in more than a century, the realignment of the country on future paths thanks to massive investments in energy green and a reconciliation, welcomed by all, with the traditional allies of the United States.
Take a step back and look at the bigger picture… which is why I wouldn’t be totally surprised if the first big surprise of 2024 was a two-word message from Joe Biden: “Bye bye!”
BESIDES JOE BIDEN, WHO ELSE?
Photo WENN
Kamala HARRIS
- 59 years old
- Vice-president
- Former California senator
- Harris would likely be considered the frontrunner if Biden withdrew.
- However, 53.7% of Americans disapprove of his vice presidency compared to 36.3% approval.
Photo AFP
Gavin NEWSOM
- 56 years old
- Governor of California
- Former mayor of San Francisco
- Newsom is extremely ambitious, but will the average American be tempted by a man from a state as progressive as California?
Photo AFP
Gretchen WHITMER
- 52 years
- Governor of Michigan
- As an elected official from a traditional bellwether state, Whitmer could potentially attract moderate voters from similar Midwestern states.
Photo WENN
Robert F. KENNEDY Junior
- 69 years old
- Environmental lawyer
- Son of Robert F. Kennedy, former Minister of Justice
- Nephew of John F. Kennedy, former president
- RFK Jr belongs to the most legendary political family in the United States.
- This family, however, rejected him for his conspiratorial positions, particularly in relation to COVID-19 and vaccines.