Despite the fact that the Democratic Party shafted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2016 and 2020, the self-avowed socialist who caucuses with the Democrats is considering a third run for the presidency in 2024. If anything, Bernie certainly is tenacious in his steadfast belief that the socialist revolution will prevail in the land of the free.
“I assume that he would give it a hard look,” Sanders’ adviser Faiz Shakir recently told CBS News. “I don’t want to make the judgment for him. Obviously, it would be his choice to make. But I assume that he would want to reevaluate it.”
However, as Shakir noted later in the interview, Sanders’ decision will hinge on whether or not President Biden runs for re-election.
“Personally, I take President Biden at his word and our orbit takes him at his word that he’s taking it seriously and presume that he is leaning toward yes,” Shakir said. “But if it were an open field? Yeah, I’m confident he would take another look at it and say, ‘Do I want to do this or not?'” he added.
It has been a long time since a sitting president faced a primary challenge. In 1980, when President Carter was seeking a second term, then-Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) threw his hat into the ring due mostly to Carter’s abysmal approval ratings and terrible foreign policy agenda.
Like 1980, 2024 could be a tough reelection bid for the incumbent Democratic president, seeing as how Biden’s first two years in office have been less than stellar on the economic and foreign policy fronts. Moreover, as the Democratic Party moves further to the left, one can’t help but wonder if the time has finally come for the party to nominate a candidate such as Sanders, who is all-in on the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and many more of the socialist policies the Democrats’ base has come to support in recent years.
It is also quite possible that Biden will choose not to run for reelection, given his declining mental acuity and his growing disfavor with the radical wing of the party. Although Bernie is actually older than Biden, he is far more mentally astute.
A lot of things can happen (good and bad) for Biden between now and 2024, however, I think it would be naïve to count Bernie out for a third run in 2024. Since his first failed attempt in 2016, more and more Americans have jumped on the socialist bandwagon. Moreover, Bernie is a rock star with America’s socialist-loving youth; President Biden, not so much.
And, as the 2022 midterms showed us, America’s youth came out strongly in favor of far-left socialist candidates. Perhaps the third time will be the charm for Bernie.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is the editorial director and a research fellow at The Heartland Institute, as well as a researcher and contributing editor at StoppingSocialism.com.
