During Monday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean responded to a question about whether President Joe Biden could serve another four years by saying, “I don’t think Biden is in worse shape than the last few years of President Reagan. In fact, I think he’s in pretty good shape.” He also said that President Reagan “had a great team around him that knew what to do. President Joe Biden has a great team around him that knows what to do. They’ve done a great job running the country,” and that “Biden is smart” and could run the country better than former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in 2024.
Dean began by saying Biden has done a great job running the country over the last four years, and he believes Biden can regain voters’ trust.
Later, after Dean praised Biden’s performance in office, moderator Michel Martin asked: [relevant exchange begins around 2:25] “Even if that’s the case, does that speak to the next four years? I think the question here is whether voters have confidence that Biden can do another four years.”
Dean responded, “Yes, and I’ll tell you why. First of all, I don’t think Biden is in a worse position than Reagan was in the last few years of his term. In fact, I think he’s in a much better position. Secondly, whether you like him or not — and I certainly didn’t like Reagan’s politics — he had a great team around him who knew what he was doing. Joe Biden has a great team around him who know what they’re doing, who have run the country well, who have created jobs in unprecedented ways, who have tried to undo the disaster that Trump created with his foreign policy, and that team will remain intact. And I think Biden is smart. As I think he said himself in North Carolina, he’s not as agile as he was, but he can run the country a lot better than a convicted felon can.”
Dean also said he wasn’t sure whether Biden should hold another debate.
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