President Biden will eventually decide to stand down and not seek re-election this year, a top JPMorgan Chase strategist predicted over the weekend.
Michael Cembalest, who heads the market and investment strategy unit in the bank’s asset management division, believes that the 81-year-old Biden will drop out of the race “sometime between Super Tuesday and the November election, citing health concerns.”
“Super Tuesday” refers to the March 5 presidential primaries and caucuses that will be held in more than a dozen states, including California, Texas, Massachusetts, Vermont and North Carolina.
The winner of the “Super Tuesday” contests is considered the heavy favorite to eventually capture the party’s nomination for president.
Cembalest cited Biden’s low approval rating, particularly for a president who can claim “around 10% job creation since his inauguration,” in a newsletter which outlined possible economic and political trends for this coming year.
The strategist noted that Biden’s high job creation figures are “the by-product of his inauguration coinciding with the rollout of COVID vaccines and a reopening US economy.”
Cembalest did not predict who might take Biden’s place as the Democratic candidate.
The Post has sought comment from the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris is unpopular with the public — with more than half (55.5%) disapproving of her job performance, according to the FiveThirtyEight data and statistics news site.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and self-help author Marianne Williamson are the only other Democrats who have declared their candidacies.
The two long-shot candidates will debate one another in New Hampshire on Monday. Biden will not participate.
Another Democrat, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., intends to run as an independent candidate.
Despite concerns over Biden’s age and mental acuity, the incumbent remains the overwhelming favorite to recapture his party’s nomination, with polls showing three in four Dems favoring him over Williamson and Phillips, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Former President Donald Trump remains the overwhelming front-runner in a race against GOP hopefuls Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy.
If the presidential election were held today, Biden would lose to Trump, according to the most recent public opinion surveys.