Obama strategist David Axelrod warns 80 year-old Biden's 'age issue' is huge for Democrats - and one problem that they cannot try to fix
- It comes after Biden, 80, suffered an embarrassing moment of confusion at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- Axelrod said that Biden's age is becoming a problem as he hammered the president for the second time in a week
- 'I think with Donald Trump on the other end, he could still win this election. But the age issue is difficult,' Axelrod said
David Axelrod, the man who helped mastermind Barack Obama's 2008 run to the White House, now says President Joe Biden's age is a huge issue for Democrats and one with no apparent solution.
It comes after Biden, 80, suffered an embarrassing moment of confusion at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as he stumbled through a Veterans Day service.
While he didn't reference it on Sunday, Axelrod - who served as chief strategist of Obama's two campaigns for the White House - said that Biden's age is becoming a problem as he hammered the president for the second time in a week.
'I think that there is one issue that is hanging over him,' Axelrod told Dana Bash of CNN in a conversation with ex-Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan. 'I think with Donald Trump on the other end, he could still win this election. But the age issue is difficult.'
Despite Trump being just three years younger, polls have shown that Biden is more susceptible to be seen as 'too old' to run for re-election. Axelrod says all of the other issues facing Biden are fixable.
David Axelrod, the man who helped mastermind Barack Obama 's 2008 run to the White House, now says President Joe Biden 's age is a huge issue for Democrats and one with no apparent solution
'The country is in a sour mood, no doubt about it. It is hard to be an incumbent, and it's been in a sour mood since before he was elected. There are concerns about inflation, that's a problem. Those could be overcome.'
Though Axelrod suggested last week on the very same network that Biden consider dropping out, he does believe that Biden is going to be the nominee in 2024.
He adds, however, that the likes of Phillips, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West could split votes and hand the presidency back to Trump.
'I believe Joe Biden will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. And right now, we're getting to the third party point,' he said.
'My concern is that Donald Trump has a high floor and a low ceiling, and you throw a bunch of third party candidates in there, and you are making it much more likely that he wins the election.'
Axelrod is credited for revolutionizing modern day campaigning for his winning media management strategy for Obama and Biden's 2008 and 2012 campaigns.
The President needed stage directions from an Arlington Honor Guard after laying a ceremonial wreath, taking several steps in the wrong direction before he was pointed to his spot next to Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Biden delivered a speech on the 'ultimate sacrifice' of American troops, acknowledging escalating global tensions as he praised how 'Americans stand watch around the world, often with great personal peril.'
While he didn't reference it on Sunday, Axelrod - who served as chief strategist of Obama's two campaigns for the White House - said that Biden's age is becoming a problem as he hammered the president for the second time in a week
After the laying of a ceremonial wreath, Biden appeared to need stage directions from a military officer as he took steps in the wrong direction
'War and conflict, death and loss, are not relics of our American history - they're part of our American story.'
As Biden spoke, hundreds of pro-Palestine demonstrators descended on his Delaware mansion to protest the US support for Israel in the conflict in the Middle East.
Biden was joined at Arlington National Cemetary by Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to celebrate the armed services.
The consternation over Biden's age comes as polling has never been worse for the president.
Polling from The New York Times and Siena College that shows the 80-year-old trialing behind Donald Trump in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The poll of 3,662 registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin was conducted between Oct. 22 to Nov. 3. The margin of error for each state is between 4.4 and 4.8 percentage points.
Biden is ahead only in Wisconsin, by 2 percentage points, and falls to Trump in the five other states by margins of four to 10 percentage points among registered voters, according to the poll.
Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania were four of the states the Democrat beat then-president Donald Trump in during their 2020 White House face-off.
Also in attendance at the solemn service was (L-R) Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden
As Biden spoke at Arlington, hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters descended on his Delaware mansion, criticizing the US support for Israel as the conflict in the Middle East escalates
The same poll revealed that two-thirds of the electorate sees the country moving in the wrong direction under Biden.
Just 37 percent of people say they trusted Biden with the economy, compared to 59 percent with Trump - which is one of the largest issue gaps, the polling suggested.
Biden's bragging rights on 'Bidenomics' has fallen short too - with a measly two percent saying the economy was 'excellent' during his tenure.
According to the statistics, young voters under the age of 30 are only favoring Biden by a single percentage point - and men are preferring Trump by double the margin that women are choosing Biden.
Voters across all income levels felt that policies under Biden had hurt them personally (18 points disadvantage) whereas Trump's policies had helped them (17 point advantage.)
Biden's senile age of 80 also played a massive factor, according to the data. 71 percent of the pollsters - from every demographic - said he was 'too old.'
Comparatively, just 39 percent saw Trump, 77, as too old.
Voters also preferred Trump over Biden on immigration, national security, and on the current Israel Palestine by 12, 12, and 11 points respectively.
Meanwhile, Biden's pull with Hispanic voters is down to single digits and traditionally Democratic black voters are now registering 22 percent support for Trump.
'Gallup predicted an eight-point loss for President Obama only for him to win handily a year later. We'll win in 2024 by putting our heads down and doing the work, not by fretting about a poll,' ' said Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for Biden's campaign told The New York Times.
DailyMail.com found out of 1,000 voters in a hypothetical 2024 head-to-head poll Trump takes a one-point lead over Biden.
New polling from the New York Times and Sienna Collage shows Biden falling behind in five of the six most important battleground states
'Only Joe Biden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party ,' Axelrod said on X
One year out from election day on November 5, 2024, Biden's Gallup approval rating stands at 37 percent.
That is lower at the same stage than his six immediate predecessors - Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.
Only Jimmy Carter, who was on 32 percent, was more unpopular than Biden with a year to go, and Carter went on to lose in a landslide.
Biden has raised concerns over his age with recent gaffes from looking confused how to exit a stage at events and slipping up on telling stories.
