Keller @ Large: Why a Trump run would be good for President Biden
BOSTON -- For President Joe Biden, Monday was just the latest in a seemingly unending string of bad news days.
A White House event aimed at showcasing his support for gun control measures turned sour when a survivor of a Parkland School shooting victim heckled Biden. And a new Siena College/New York Times poll found 64% of likely Democratic primary voters want someone else as their nominee in 2024, a shockingly bad number for an incumbent. Among Democrat-leaning independents, it's 73%.
Among voters under 30, it's nearly unanimous.
But how's this for a ray of hope for Biden and other struggling Democrats?
There is mounting evidence that former President Trump is nearing announcement of another run, and at recent rallies, he's sure sounding like a candidate. A crowd in Alaska the other day erupted in cheers when Trump reminded them that "I gave you the largest tax cuts and regulation cuts in American history."
Despite Biden's currently rock-bottom job approval numbers, a rematch with Trump might be the best thing that ever happened to him.
That Times/Siena poll shows the two men in a virtual tie, with Biden's three-point lead falling within the margin of error. It finds Trump is as unpopular as ever with women, and losing support from some Republicans, especially younger ones.
And despite Trump world scoffing at the House January 6th Committee hearings, the poll shows they're having an impact. Among crucial independent swing voters, the state of our democracy is now second only to the economy on their list of important issues.
If the committee's findings yield criminal charges against Trump to go with the ongoing election and tax fraud investigations in Georgia and New York, history tells us that will just intensify his commitment to another run. The best defense, he has always maintained, is an aggressive offense, and as Robert Mueller noted in his report on the 2016 Trump campaign's Russian ties, you can't indict a sitting president.
So for Biden and other Democrats who seem to do best when matched against Trump, a rematch could be the best news they've had in a long time.
