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Fox News' Dana Perino said on Wednesday that President Joe Biden gave an "effective" response when asked who he would rather face in the 2024 election.
Kayleigh McEnany, a former aide to President Donald Trump, also agreed with Perino while speaking on America's Newsroom, saying that Biden answered the question with confidence when he told reporters that he didn't care if his opponent was Trump or former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
The Context
Biden has faced criticism during his reelection campaign for his age, with voters concerned if he's mentally and physically fit enough to run the country for four more years. Meanwhile, Biden's prime opponent, Trump, who is the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, has received similar criticism as he is only four years younger than the 81-year-old president. Haley, Trump's Republican rival in the primaries, has used her age, 52, to her advantage, criticizing both Biden's and Trump's fitness to be president.
What We Know
During America's Newsroom on Wednesday, a clip was played of a reporter asking Biden outside the White House on Tuesday, "Who would you rather challenge in November: Nikki Haley or Donald Trump?"
"Oh, I don't care," Biden responded.
Perino praised Biden's response, saying, "It's sort of like I'm confident. You don't usually see that," adding, "That I thought was actually effective for President Biden."
McEnany, who previously served as Trump's White House press secretary, agreed: "Look the age concern is a serious one. Let your allies litigate that case for you. We know he takes age coverage seriously ... He knows it's a legitimate criticism but for him to treat it dismissively and confidently I think is the right response."
Newsweek reached out to Biden's campaign via email for comment.
The Views
In an NBC News poll conducted between January 26 and January 30, 62 percent of voters said that Biden's mental and physical health was a major concern. Meanwhile, 34 percent said that Trump's fitness to be president was a major concern given his age. The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
What's Next?
November will likely be a re-match between Trump and Biden. Trump has won every state-level Republican primary or caucus, besides the Navada primary where he was not on the ballot. He will go up against Haley again in South Carolina on Saturday where Trump leads by 30 points, according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight.
Meanwhile, Biden won the Democratic New Hampshire primary as a write-in candidate with 63.9 percent of the vote and South Carolina's Democratic primary with 96.2 percent of the vote. The next Democratic primary is in Michigan on February 27.
Update 2/21/24, 10:51 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 2/21/24, 11:21 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more