Democrats afraid to say publicly that Biden too old to seek re-election, Harris is not an option: report

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Democrats are afraid to publicly say that the 80-year-old President Joe Biden is too old to seek re-election and do not want Vice President Kamala Harris to run without a primary in 2024, according to a new report.

"High-level Democrats are rallying to President Biden’s re-election, not because they think it’s in the best interest of the country to have an 82-year-old start a second term but because they fear the potential alternative: the nomination of Kamala Harris and election of Donald Trump," Politico’s Politics Bureau Chief and Senior Political Columnist Jonathan Martin wrote.

Martin recalled several instances in which Democrats seemed uncertain about a second Biden presidential run.

One senator said there were only a few Democrats in the chamber who wanted the president to run again and claimed the party had to devise an "alignment of interest" with Biden to get him away from the office "narcotic." An unidentified governor also worried Biden would be unable to campaign much in the lead-up to November 2024.

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President Biden speaks during a dinner reception for governors and their spouses in the State Dining Room of the White House, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

In one instance, a House member insisted Democrats should renominate Biden, then instructed the Politico writer to turn off his phone and demanded to know who else was in the running. The individual also said that Harris was not a viable option.

Speaking on Harris, another House Democrat said, "The Democrats who will need to speak out on her are from the Congressional Black Caucus, no White member is going to do it."

Other Democrats have had similarly unenthusiastic responses when posited with the idea of a Harris presidential run.

"When nearly a dozen Democratic governors lined up for a news conference to trumpet their midterm gains, eager to take a turn at the microphone, the voluble bunch grew quiet when I asked if they thought Harris should be nominated without a primary were Biden not to run," Martin wrote.

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US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023.  (Photographer: Jemal Countess/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Eventually, Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey punted the question and the governors erupted in nervous laughter.

"This is all to say that the only topic Democrats may be less happy to discuss than actuarial tables and Biden’s second term is his vice president. To express their concerns about a woman of Jamaican and Indian descent touches, to put it mildly, on highly sensitive matters," Martin said.

He noted that Democrats were fearful, in part because of ridicule from the media and left-wing activists.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., was the only Democrat to go on the record for the report and told Martin nobody in the party wanted to do anything that could undermine their chances of victory in the next presidential election. However, he admitted Democrats are also quietly worried that the party could be at a higher risk of defeat if the path is cleared for Biden.

Kamala Harris embraces U.S. President Joe Biden before his remarks at a menorah lighting ceremony in celebration of Hanukkah in the East Room of the White House on December 01, 2021 in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Philips reminded Martin that he had previously criticized Republican lawmakers who publicly praised former President Donald Trump during his time in office but had starkly different comments once the cameras turned off.

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"Say it loud," Philips said, urging his colleagues who share his beliefs about Biden.

He added that "fear" as well as "self-perseveration" and "aspirations" were motivating members of his party to stay quiet.

According to the report, Biden plans to announce his re-election campaign in April, with his team still internally deciding who should run his campaign and their super PAC.

On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reaffirmed that Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is also reportedly mulling a potential 2024 run, but only Trump and Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley have officially announced their candidacy.

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