Israel Balderas, Elon University assistant professor of journalism, made two appearances on WGHP FOX 8 to discuss President Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and the future of the 2024 election.
Elon University Assistant Professor of Journalism Israel Balderas recently appeared on WGHP FOX 8 to discuss President Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and what that means for the future.
Balderas appeared on the High Point station’s Sunday night show Swing State on July 21 and then on the station’s Monday morning newscast on July 22.
“The theory of the case changes now,” said Balderas on Swing State. “Before, we maybe had the old man versus the con man, that was the message out on the street. Now it’s the prosecutor versus the prosected. Now there’s going to be more enthusiasm.”
When asked whether he believes it was notable that Biden did not make the announcement in person, he said journalists will need to ask some tough questions in the next few days.
“Number one: why the letter? Why not in the person? Why not a press conference? Is his health worse than we are being told? That’s number one. Number two: he said he is going to address the nation in a few days. My concern is that if he did get COVID and he’s been battling COVID, that it is worse than we are being told. And that raises another question: should President Biden, if he cannot run for the White House, should he resign the White House?”
But Balderas did note that Biden dropping out could reflect positively on his legacy.
“History is very important for Biden. He sees what he has done through that lens, and I think tonight we are seeing a lot of folks saying ‘He has done a brave thing. He has done a courageous thing for our country and certainly his years of service will not go unseen and unheard,'” Balderas said.
When discussing the potential of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the democratic nominee, Balderas said Republicans could use her work at the U.S. Southern border against her.
“Because of the immigration issue, because she was in charge of this, the Biden administration gave her this as something to manage. The Republicans are already attacking her tonight. The RNC has already released ads and the number one case against her is the immigration fiasco.”
Watch the full Swing State broadcast below and Balderas’ appearance on Monday here.