Former Governor Warns Biden Won’t Be On Ballot
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) said that he was concerned former President Joe Biden would ultimately not be on the November ballot. The comment came after both Biden and former President Donald Trump accepted two debates this election cycle, with one taking place in June and the other in September.
Kasich said in a Friday interview that he wondered “that there’s a real possibility that Joe Biden will not be the Democrat nominee.”
Kasich made the comments as a supporter of the current president. Despite seeking the White House as a Republican in 2016, Kasich emerged as one of the sharpest critics of the former president and endorsed Biden in 2020.
The former Ohio governor also cited recent polls showing Biden trailing Trump in a number of swing states.
“The fact that the economy is not turning, the fact that people are saying it’s a terrible economy for them, the fact that they’ve said they don’t have any confidence Joe Biden can fix it, his public appearances have not been very good, and now they’ve agreed to two debates, which is as out there as you can get,” he said.
Trump leads in Kasich’s home state, and in most of the swing states that will likely decide the 2024 election.
The most recent New York Times poll found Trump ahead in five swing states. The poll corresponds with other surveys that have found the former president leading both nationally and in the battleground states.
He also cited one recent Siena poll that had bad numbers for the Biden campaign, saying that about the American people, “not only did they think he couldn’t fix the economy – and they put Trump way ahead of him – but they also said they’re not sure he’s as competent as Trump.”
Kasich’s comments also came as the nation’s attention shifted toward two planned debates between Trump and Biden. Biden accepted Trump’s challenge to hold a debate “anytime” and “anywhere.”
Trump: Biden will be ‘jacked up’ on drugs during the June debate.
pic.twitter.com/70ekR3V2ar— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) May 18, 2024
The first debate is scheduled for June 27 in Atlanta, Georgia and will be hosted by CNN.