Jason Chaffetz: Biden Isn't Running in 2024 and Neither is Kamala Harris

Is Joe Biden really running?

Standing before a New Mexico audience recently, President Biden unintelligibly joked that, "I hibernated in a while -- all, you know, in Iowa for a while." It's not clear what he meant by that, but hibernating is an apt descriptor of the Biden 2024 re-election campaign.

Though Biden was mocked for seemingly campaigning from his basement in 2020, this summer he appears to be campaigning from the beach. That's where he spent the weekend while Maui burned, and serious presidential contenders drummed up support at the Iowa State Fair. That's just one of several indicators that Biden may not be planning to see his name on a ballot next year.

Skeleton Crew -- Though Biden has begun hiring fundraisers for the 2024 campaign, his operation is a tiny skeleton crew of staffers working exclusively out of his home state of Delaware. That puts them closer to his homes near Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, but far from the center of gravity in swing states or the nation's capital.

As of last quarter, he had just four people on the payroll, all working out of the party offices. In July, the campaign announced the hiring of a few fundraisers, but there seems to be little urgency to mount a full-scale campaign and the first primary votes are five months away.

Strategic Travel -- After spending some of the summer overseas, Biden is in vacation mode for the month of August. Not only did Biden skip the traditionally all-important Iowa State Fair, he traveled to Utah. My home state always welcomes the president of the United States, but we're hardly a battleground state. A serious candidate would have campaigned in Nevada, Colorado and Montana.

He did go on to visit northern Arizona, where he proclaimed the Grand Canyon to be one of the "nine wonders" of the world and full of "ironic" species. He has always been a gaffe machine, but with the election ramping up, his new wilderness grab does nothing to expand his base in critical Arizona. In fact, it polarizes voters.

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Fiddling While Maui Burns -- Biden's inextricable response to the Maui fires from his vacation on the beach of "No comment" ricocheted around the nation. Did he really not have anything to say to those desperate people fighting for their lives as he sunned himself on the beach? This was an opportunity for a president to flex his political muscle. Though the administration insists he has taken action, reports on the ground in Maui describe aid being blocked, properties being looted and FEMA being AWOL.

He also points out that Kamala Harris is barely visible, and that Biden is beset by questions about the Hunter bribery scandal. He even cancelled an interview with MSNBC because he was afraid he'd get asked about Hunter and the bribes Hunter collected for Joe.

(So when you see him being interviewed by an MSNBC stooge -- you know that stooge agreed beforehand not to ask questions about Hunter or foreign bribery.)

I have the same feeling, though I have to confess, I also thought that Biden wouldn't make it to the 2020 election. So take my hunch with a bigger grain of salt than you usually take my nonsense with.

Sorry, it's a slowwww news day -- so was yesterday -- so I'm spreading these bad boys out.

Ooooh, spreading out bad boys is TIGHT!

posted by Ace at 02:25 PM

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