Biden fires back at 2024 doubts: Democrats ‘want me to run’

President Biden insisted Tuesday that Democrats want him to run for reelection, firing back at doubters after a poll showed a majority of primary voters wanted someone else at the top of the ticket in 2024.  

“They want me to run,” Biden said Tuesday evening when asked by a reporter, toward the end of the White House Congressional Picnic, for his message to Democrats who don’t want him to run for reelection.

“Read the polls. Read the polls,” Biden continued. “You guys are all the same. That poll showed that 92 percent of Democrats if I ran would vote for me.”  

Biden was citing a statistic in from a New York Times-Siena College poll that showed 92 percent of Democrats would vote for him if the 2024 presidential election were held today and the choices were Biden and former President Trump.  

What Biden did not address, however, was that the poll, released Monday, also showed 64 percent of Democratic primary voters said they would prefer the party nominate someone other than Biden in 2024, while 26 percent said that Biden should be the next Democratic presidential nominee.  

The result was even more lopsided among young Democrats, with 94 percent of Democratic voters ages 18 to 29 saying that someone other than Biden should be the 2024 nominee.  

The poll was the starkest sign yet of the frustration and discontent among many in the party with Biden and only increased the chatter about other potential nominees.

Still, some Democrats and Biden allies have played up the statistic that Biden still beats Trump 44 percent to 41 percent in a hypothetical match-up, according to the poll.  

Biden has said publicly and told allies privately that he intends to run for a second term in 2024, though he has acknowledged that “fate” could disrupt those plans.  

There is also growing speculation that Trump could announce another presidential run in the coming weeks.  

Biden allies maintain that the president remains the best chance to beat Trump, citing his 2020 election win.  

Biden’s comments on Tuesday came after a progressive organization RootsAction launched a campaign to oppose another Biden run.