Team Biden prepares for onslaught of criticism

As President Biden prepares for re-election in 2024, allies and associates are preparing to launch a barrage of criticism of his age and his mental and physical abilities in the face of a grueling campaign, according to a new report

Democrats are already bracing themselves for critics who will point out the 80-year-old president stumbles or slips while boarding Air Force One in a bid to spotlight his age and intellectual prowess, The Hill reported on Sunday.

“It’s going to really test the president,” a Democratic strategist who has worked on recent presidential campaigns told the outlet. “Campaign travel is brutal for all of us, but he has to travel from place to place and be on top of every stop because he’s under scrutiny more than any other current candidate.”

Republicans are “already making age and mental acuity a part of their argument,” the Democrat said, noting the widespread coverage when Biden fell off his bike near his Delaware beach house last summer.

“They’re going to be looking for anything to show that he’s not ready for the job and because he’s going to be traveling a lot, there’s bound to be moments,” the strategist said.

Another strategist told The Hill, “The more he’s out there, the more likely he is to slip up.”

The 2024 contest will be vastly different from the 2020 race, when Biden spent much of his time campaigning in the basement of his Delaware home during the coronavirus pandemic, appearing on newscasts, late-night talk shows, or taping virtual campaign spots.

Former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies mocked Biden for confining himself to the basement and accused him of “hiding” while they were out on the stump.

Biden won’t have that option this time — and he needs to show he can handle the rigors of a campaign while juggling the day-to-day affairs of the nation.

Basil Smikle, the director of the public policy program at Hunter College, who has worked as a strategist for the New York State Democratic Party, said Biden will be judged on his interaction with voters but also on his “power as an activist.”

“He benefits from having more control over his environment now as president than he did in 2020,” Smikle told The Hill. “But even through that lens, the reviews can be more meaningful.”

The president dismisses concerns about his age by saying, “Watch me,” and those in the Biden camp point to his arduous trip to Ukraine in February to meet with President Volodymy Zelenskyy — a visit that required an approximately 10-hour train journey.

Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said the Biden campaign will adjust “whether that means doing long interviews about quick hits or fewer events or whatever.”

“Biden will win in 2024 based on performance and sentiment and understanding he’s not trying to burn the country down,” she told The Hill. “No event endurance.”

Jason Miller, a longtime Trump adviser who is also working on the 76-year-old’s 2024 campaign, responded to the Hill report on Twitter with two words: “Weak and weak.”