Biden’s Two Worst Weaknesses Ahead of the Presidential Elections 2024 Were Recently Revealed

Two significant challenges to President Joe Biden's re-election this week are his son Hunter's legal roadblocks and the widely held belief that the 80-year-old is too old for re-election.

Biden, his self-branded “Bidenomics,” and his team with VP Kamala Harris are a hit among the Democrats, as his approval ratings were just above 80% in 2021, Reuters reported. But the duo seemed to have hit some snags in late August as his total disapproval ratings have increased to 52%. 

Senior political analyst Zachary B. Wolf cautioned that the President has two major weaknesses that might hinder his re-election in 2024, in an analysis for CNN's What Matters. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden's business ventures and personal life have generated issues for his father's political career for years – and with the 2024 campaign season fast approaching, the younger Biden's continuous legal troubles show little indication of abating, per ABC News.

Last month, on September 14, Hunter Biden was indicted on federal gun charges in Delaware, accused of lying about his previous drug use and breaching a gun regulation when he purchased a weapon in 2018, well before his father's presidential campaign. Hallie Biden, Hunter's late brother Beau's wife, later abandoned the firearm behind a grocery shop. At the time, Hallie and Hunter were having an affair.

Separate investigations into tax evasion and overseas business operations by Hunter have not yet resulted in charges from Delaware US Attorney David Weiss. While Weiss found no basis to charge Hunter Biden criminally for his foreign business dealings, and no direct link has been drawn between the son's business interests and the father Biden's policy positions, House Republicans intend to dig deep during an official impeachment inquiry authorized by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The impeachment is not likely to bear fruit legally but will manage to hurt Biden's electoral prospects in front of voters. According to a CNN poll done by SSRS in late August, before the gun-related indictment was handed down but after a prior plea deal fell through, 61% of the population reported believing Biden had some role in his son's business transactions while serving as vice president.

The second weakness in front of Biden is his age. In CNN's poll, only about a quarter of Americans felt Biden has the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively, far from a ringing endorsement of a president who returned from a trip to Asia with major policy achievements last month but gave the impression he was bewildered at a press conference.

Only one-third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning registered voters in the poll believe Biden should be the Democrats' presidential candidate in 2024. “Biden’s age isn’t just a Fox News trope; it’s been the subject of dinner-table conversations across America this summer,” the Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote, calling Biden to think of alternates and step aside owing to his age.