Top Line
A recent poll says many voters would support former first lady Michelle Obama running for president, though she has repeatedly rejected the idea, as analysts and a growing number of Democrats pressure President Joe Biden to drop out of the race following her poor performance in last week’s debate.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has become the Democratic nominee to replace President Joe Biden in the next presidential election. ,
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Important Facts
Obama, the wife of former President Barack Obama, was the only Democrat to pull ahead of former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical November contest, and she did so in a convincing manner, beating Trump 50% to 39%, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.
Biden, meanwhile, was tied with Trump at 40%-40% in the Ipsos poll, while Vice President Kamala Harris trailed Trump at 43%-42%, California Governor Gavin Newsom was behind at 42%-39%, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was far behind Trump, with 41% of the vote compared to his 36%.
Michelle Obama has maintained positive ratings among voters for over a decade: a 2011 Quinnipiac University poll found that more than three-fifths of voters gave her a positive rating, higher than her husband’s rating during his first term as president (56.5%), and higher than former President Bill Clinton (59.2%).
But despite Obama’s tenure in the White House, her role as an advocate for healthy eating and tackling wealth inequality, and her popular memoir “Becoming,” the former first lady has repeatedly and firmly rejected notions of a presidential run, stating plainly at the end of her husband’s second term in 2017: “No, no, not going to do that.”
He doubled down on his opposition to the 2019 election, urging voters to support Biden, while forming a political action committee to support Obama as Biden’s vice presidential running mate.
Speculation about a Michelle Obama run for president — and a potential Biden-Michelle Obama ticket — gained momentum in March, when CNN commentator Alisyn Camerota tipped Obama to be his vice presidential running mate, and multiple outlets reported that Democrats were quietly courting a Michelle Obama campaign amid concerns about Biden’s advancing age following special counsel Robert Hur’s report, which called Biden an “elderly man with a failing memory” (Obama once again dismissed calls for a presidential run in a statement to NBC News).
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amazing facts
Despite Obama repeatedly saying he has no interest in running for president, some bettors are still not convinced. Betting platform Polymarket puts his chances of becoming the Democratic nominee in 2024 at 6% – higher than California Governor Gavin Newsom’s 5% odds, according to Polymarket.
Main Background
Biden has faced questions about his advancing age throughout his presidency, as well as sharp criticism from Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Biden for his declining mental acuity and physical abilities and often mocked the president’s gaffes. But Biden’s age became a bigger concern among Democrats after Thursday’s CNN debate, when the 81-year-old appeared to struggle to stay on point in his answers, sometimes appearing incoherent and speaking in a raspy and whispery voice. At a campaign stop a day later, Biden acknowledged that he just can’t “debate” as well as he used to, but vowed to stay in the race even as calls grow among Democratic pundits and lawmakers for Biden to step down. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona — have called on Biden to abandon his campaign, while editorial boards at major publications such as The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune have similarly said Biden should end his campaign for 2024.
tangent line
A CNN/SRRS poll following the debate found Harris trailing Trump 47%-45%, a better showing than Joe Biden (six-point deficit to Trump), Whitmer (five-point deficit), Newsom (five-point deficit) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (four-point deficit). As it stands, FiveThirtyEight’s weighted polling average puts Biden about two points behind Trump (41.9% to 39.8%) in a November rematch, though Harris’ candidacy could also present challenges for Democrats. Her approval rating is 37.5%, only slightly above Joe Biden (37.2%), according to FiveThirtyEight.
