President Biden said Wednesday that “probably 50” Democrats could defeat former President Donald Trump in next year’s general election — the latest in a series of bizarre assessments by Biden of the state of the race.
Biden, 81, was asked by a reporter following the conclusion of remarks from the White House about the need for Congress to pass added military aid to Ukraine: “Do you think there is any Democrat who could defeat Donald Trump other than you?”
“Probably 50 of them,” Biden said before hastily adding: “No, I’m not the only one who can defeat him, but I will defeat him.”
The president initially raised eyebrows a day earlier during a fundraiser in suburban Boston, when he told a group of Democratic donors: “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running. But we cannot let him win, for the sake of the country.”
After returning to Washington, Biden was asked if he would be seeking a second term if Trump, 77, was not in the race.
“I expect so,” the president said. “But, look, he is running, and I just — I have to run.”
When asked if he would drop out of the race if Trump did the same, Biden responded: “No, not now.”
The commander-in-chief is currently being challenged by two Democrats for the party’s nomination — self-help author Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.).
Phillips, 54, has been vocal about the lack of competition facing Biden from within the Democratic Party, despite the public’s concerns about his age and his low approval ratings.
All other Democrats who were rumored to be considering a 2024 bid, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have thrown their weight behind the incumbent for another term.
However, several recent polls have found that Trump would narrowly defeat his successor in a hypothetical matchup.
A general election poll from NBC News released in November showed Biden losing to Trump by two percentage points in the popular vote, while a New York Times/ Sienna College poll indicated the president is lagging behind Trump in the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The RealClearPolitics average of national polls shows Biden being defeated by Trump, 46.6% to 44.5%