Cardin heaps praise on Biden ahead of possible reelection campaign

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) lauded President Biden’s leadership from the Oval Office ahead of an expected 2024 reelection bid that has been met with some trepidation from the party’s voters.

Cardin who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised Biden’s performance on the world stage following the president’s surprise visit to Ukraine last week, saying “it really united the free world.”

“Domestically, I think the ability to pass a major agenda during the first two years shows that he knows how to handle our domestic agenda,” Cardin said. “I think his leadership has been very valuable for our country and I think he will be shown historically to have been a very effective president.”

But Cardin’s enthusiasm for Biden is not reflected broadly by Democratic voters. Much of the polling ahead of the 2024 election season shows that most primary voters in the party would prefer someone other than Biden be the nominee. By all accounts, Biden is expected to announce a 2024 campaign run in coming weeks, with first lady Jill Biden saying as of this week all that’s left is to determine the time and place.

Cardin said the restraint in support from voters is due to some of the economic challenges, such as inflation, that the public has faced under Biden’s presidency. But he said Biden and Democratic lawmakers have addressed those issues.

“The reality that it’s difficult to make ends meet, I think President Biden understands that, he’s clearly addressed inflation, we’ve reduced inflation in this country,” Cardin said. “I think it’s difficult today for a family and that is reflected in some of the popular polls.”

Cardin served with Biden in Congress from 1987 to 2009.