Former Obama advisor questions Joe Biden's candidacy: 'He has to decide whether it's in his best interest or the country's'

Joe Biden announced his intention to seek a second term in the White House in April. Since then, Republicans and Democrats have expressed concern about his health and particularly his age, given that, if successful, he would end his second term at 85 years old. Indeed, he will face internal challenges that have raised doubts within the party.

David Axelrod, former strategist and advisor to Barack Obama, waded into the controversy regarding the need for another presidential candidate and expressed his own doubt about what would be best for the country. As a kind of Democratic electoral guru, he was key in the former president's two successful campaigns and shared his opinion on X (formerly Twitter) about 2024.

"Only [Joe Biden] can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it's in HIS best interest or the country's," he said. The post has over 1 million views on Elon Musk's social network.

"Is this the right thing to do?"

Axelrod made the comments following a series of polls that showed Donald Trump, the favorite to win the Republican nomination, ahead of Biden in key swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania .

In addition, the strategist opened the debate on the age card, widely played by Republican candidates for president and some Democrats, such as Rep. Dean Phillips.

"As I’ve said for like a couple years now, the issue’s not — for him is not political, its actuarial. You can see that in this poll and there’s just a lot of concern about the age issue, and that is something I think he needs to ponder. Just do a check and say, ‘Is this the right thing to do?’" Axelrod added, per CNN.

Comparing this to the 2012 presidential election, when Obama achieved an improbable victory over Mitt Romney (it is said that the Republican did not have a defeat speech written) Axelrod once again mentioned age.

Although the then-president had "lousy polling numbers at this time in our campaign," he indicated that age is a big difference in boosting a campaign. "Obama was 50 and not 81, and we didn’t have Donald Trump on the other side. So those are two factors that have to be considered," he added.

Finally, Axelrod did not rule out that Biden could still turn back and open the nomination to other candidates, but that it will not be long before his candidacy becomes irreversible. "Is this the best path? I suspect that he will say yes, but time is fleeting here, and this is probably the last moment for him to do that check, and it’s probably good if he does," he said.