Maloney said she doesn't "believe" Biden is going to run for reelection
New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney said Tuesday that she doesn't "believe" that President Joe Biden is going to run for re-election in 2024.
"I don't believe he's running for re-election," she said when asked if Mr. Biden should run again in 2024.
She made the comments during a congressional primary debate in New York's 12th District. One of her opponents and a longtime colleague, Rep. Jerry Nadler, said it was "too early to say" if Mr. Biden should run again. Suraj Patel, who is challenging Maloney for the third time in a row, said he does believe Mr. Biden should run again.
Maloney's answer comes at a time where multiple congressional Democrats are being more open with their doubts about whether the 79-year-old president should run for reelection in 2024.
The president and his aides consistently say he intends to run in 2024.
After the debate, Maloney released a statement saying, "I absolutely support President Biden," and she praised him for "exemplary leadership." "If Biden chooses to run for President again, I absolutely intend to support him," she declared. She said that at the moment, she's "focused on my own August 23rd primary, and ensuring we hold our Democratic majorities in the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms."
On Tuesday, when asked if she'd support Mr. Biden if he runs in 2024, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota's 2nd District told the MinnPost, "I would say we need new leaders in Washington up and down the ballot in the Democratic Party."
She lined up with Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota's 3rd District, who said last Thursday during a radio interview that he doesn't think Mr. Biden should run.
"I think the country would be well-served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats who step up," Phillips said on WCCO-AM. "I think it's time for a generational change… and I think most of my colleagues agree with that."
"I think Dean Phillips and I are in lockstep and alignment with that and I'm going to do everything in my power as a member of Congress to make sure that we have a new generation of leadership," Craig told the MinnPost.
A CBS News poll released July 31 had Biden at a 58% disapproval level.
Multiple polls released in July show that at this moment, a majority of Democrats don't want him to run again. The New York Times' survey from July 11 showed 64% of Democratic voters want someone else to run for the nomination. In a CNN poll from July 27, 75% said they want another candidate besides Mr. Biden to run.
