Biden says the quiet part out loud with admission that inadvertently paints grim picture for Democrats

President Joe Biden admitted Tuesday that he might not be running for re-election if Donald Trump were not running for a third time.

Speaking at a campaign fundraiser near Boston, the president told supporters that Trump and the Republican Party are an existential threat who "are determined to destroy American democracy." The only solution that saves America, Biden offered, is to re-elect him and empower Democrats.

"If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running," Biden said. "But we cannot let him win, for the sake of the country."

The admission is telling.

Not only was Biden suggesting that he may have been dreaming of political retirement after serving only one term, but his comments suggest that he believes that he is not up to the task of a second term, either in terms of motivation or physical and mental fitness.

Even more significant, the admission appears to confirm what Democrats are increasingly concerned about: The Democratic Party has a succession problem. The remark strongly implies that Biden is running for re-election because the leadership of the Democratic Party does not believe the party has another candidate who could beat Trump for the White House.

Would moderate voters — those who determine general election outcomes — actually want to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris or California Gov. Gavin Newsom? Probably not, and top Democratic brass know it.

Considering Biden's standing in the polls — trailing Trump in a majority of surveys — and the fact that a majority of Americans believe he is too old for a second term at 81 years old, those 10 words that Biden snuck into the end of a campaign speech paint an alarming picture of the state of the Democratic Party.

Trump, for his part, told Fox News host Sean Hannity at a town hall in Iowa on Tuesday that he believes Biden will drop out of the race before Election Day.

"I personally don’t think he makes it. I haven’t said that; I’ve been saving it for this big town hall," Trump said. "I personally don’t think he makes it physically. ... Mentally, I would say he’s equally as bad and maybe worse."

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