Top pollster enrages Biden's campaign when he dishes out the truth about Biden's re-election hopes

Pollster Nate Silver upset the Biden campaign on Monday for advising that President Joe Biden "step aside" from the presidential race if he cannot run a "normal campaign."

On Monday, Politico reported that Biden's approach to campaigning in 2024 will be unique because his age and physical fitness will limit his ability to fulfill his presidential duties while hitting the campaign trail as a leading presidential candidate.

From Politico:

2024 will be an extraordinary election, and it demands extraordinary measures.

That’s in part for reasons Biden refuses to accept: his capacity to do the job. The oldest president in history when he first took the oath, Biden will not be able to govern and campaign in the manner of previous incumbents. He simply does not have the capacity to do it, and his staff doesn’t trust him to even try, as they make clear by blocking him from the press. Biden’s bid will give new meaning to a Rose Garden campaign, and it requires accommodation to that unavoidable fact of life.

In an essay responding to Politico's story, Silver explained why he believes the Democratic Party is caught in a precarious position.

On one hand, the election is less than a year away, and Democrats have no viable alternative to Biden. Thus, the party "would be taking a huge risk by replacing Biden," according to Silver. On the other hand, Silver said Democrats are "taking a huge risk" by nominating Biden, citing his age, abysmal approval ratings, and bad polling.

"If Biden can't keep up with the schedule of a typical sitting president running for re-election, or is prone to making errors when he does, voters and the media are going to notice that and Biden will wear his 80+ years like an albatross around his neck," Silver wrote.

"It would be extremely foolish to nominate an 80-year-old man who is not up to the rigors of a modern presidential campaign — even more foolish than replacing him, which just to be clear is also an extremely foolish thing to do," he explained.

If Politico is right — and Biden plans to run a "Rose Garden campaign" because of his liabilities — Silver suggested that Biden should "join James K. Polk on the list of historically well-regarded presidents who didn't seek a second term."

In response, Biden's campaign did not address the substance of Silver's analysis, but personally attacked him.

"We are not going to take our cues from the same guy who mused whether two-term President Obama was 'toast' in 2011," said campaign spokesperson Kevin Muñoz.

But, in fact, Silver never used the word "toast." As he explained on social media, Silver's editor at the time used the word in a headline to generate interest in his story, while the word itself did not appear in story.

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