Feehery: Are both Biden and Trump paper tigers?

Inside the Beltway, it is commonly assumed that Joe Biden and Donald Trump are going to be nominated by their respective parties for president and run against each other in an epic rematch in 2024.   

But what if both turn out to be paper tigers?   

There is some evidence that voters are less than excited to see a replay of 2020. Polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans do not want to see Trump run against Biden. 

Collectively, they seem to be much more unpopular than they are individually, which is why most pundits believe in the inevitability that they both win their party’s approval. 

Biden, who is expected to announce his reelection today, right now only has environmental attorney Robert Kennedy Jr. and author Marianne Williamson standing against him for the Democratic nomination, and those are seen by the media as fringe candidates at best. 

Trump is not just leading in the polls on the GOP side — he is dominating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his chief rival, with a combination of ridiculous ads and counter-factual online trolling. You can accuse DeSantis of many things, but making the assertion that Florida mishandled COVID-19 by locking down too much is hilarious.   

The collective wisdom is often wrong in Washington. In 1968, Lyndon Johnson seemed to be cruising to a second term until another Robert Kennedy jumped in the race, and soon Johnson announced he wasn’t going to be running for reelection. And in 2016, all of Washington just assumed that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was going to shamble his way to the GOP nomination, despite the toxic nature of his brother’s last name.  

There are several reasons that both front-runners could stumble on their way to their party’s nominations.   

Our COVID-19 response could become problematic for both candidates. Right now, both Trump and Biden have embraced the COVID-19 vaccine. However, the rush to mandate jabs has led the voting public to grow not only hesitant but angry. Robert Kennedy Jr. is going to focus on the MRNA vaccines like a laser beam; while most in the media will dismiss him as an anti-vaxxer, the voters might have a different view. 

Second, both Trump and Biden have courtroom dramas that could infect their campaigns. So far, the former president has been blessed by obviously partisan prosecutors in New York City and Atlanta, and their efforts to “get Trump” have only strengthened his ties to his most loyal supporters. But there seems to be a never-ending flood of lawsuits, and litigation that at some point might slow Trump’s momentum.   

For Biden, a prosecutor in Delaware may have slow-walked the investigation into Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop, but at some point justice will have to be served and it won’t be pretty for the president’s younger son. The charges of collusion by top intelligence officials and the Biden campaign to downplay this story as a Russian hoax only adds to the suspicion that the 2020 election might not have been completely on the level.   

Finally, there is the obvious reality that both Biden and Trump are older than most baby boomers and should be spending more time on the golf course instead of running the country. Biden’s gaffes are not only embarrassing for the country but potentially very dangerous. And while Trump seems to be more “with it,” he is no spring-chicken either. He is hardly a paragon of health, and at times shows the physical difficulties of a man who is about to turn 80.   

Let’s face it, the country is ready for generational change. Too many octogenarians are still running the country, and while they may have plenty of wisdom, they lack the energy to lead the United States into a century filled with stunning technological and social change. 

It remains to be seen if well-run campaigns from both the left and right can topple the current front-runners. Both Biden and Trump are paper tigers who seem more formidable than they actually are.  

Feehery is a partner at EFB Advocacy and blogs at thefeeherytheory.com. He served as spokesman to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), as communications director to former House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and as a speechwriter to former House Minority Leader Bob Michel (R-Ill.).