Democrats need to pull themselves together and remember: Biden is still better than Trump

Democratic strategists, liberal pundits and TV talkers of all political stripes are making a living off doubting President Joe Biden’s viability in the 2024 presidential election.

Some polls show former President Donald Trump winning! Biden’s poll numbers are bad! He’s old! The far left is mad at him!

As we sit here a good 11 months before the election, there has been widespread bed-wetting over the incumbent. Buckets of liberal tears have been shed. And it all seems, in my humble, liberal opinion, a bit ridiculous.

Trump could absolutely win ...

I will never, ever, ever again utter the words, “There’s no way Donald Trump becomes president.” Fool me once, and all that.

Trump could absolutely win the 2024 election. He has a sizable swath of the voting public so thoroughly brainwashed they’d follow him into an active volcano. And there are plenty of Republicans who claim they loathe him and talk a good game about protecting democracy but would still push the button for him in the privacy of a voting booth.

Democratic voters shouldn’t rest or feel confident for a second between now and the minute the polls close. There’s too much at stake. The threat of a second Trump term and the dictator-y nightmares it might bring are too great.

... but which candidate would you rather be right now?

That said, it’s absurd to look at the two candidates and think for a moment one doesn’t have the edge, and not just because Biden faces 91 fewer state and federal felony charges than Trump.

Consider these facts:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high Wednesday. The S&P 500 went up 8.9% in November, one of its best monthly jumps in decades.

In the most recent jobs report, unemployment dropped to 3.7% from 3.9%. In January and April, it hit a 54-year low of 3.4%.

Americans are starting to gain confidence in the economy

Gas prices are down and inflation is easing. The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment is up considerably this month, from 61.3 at the end of November to 69.4, prompting this from The Wall Street Journal: “Sentiment among U.S. consumers leapt in mid-December, reversing months of declining confidence as easing inflation leaves Americans feeling brighter about the economic future.”

A recent U.S. Treasury Department report showed that wages adjusted for inflation rose 0.8% over the last year − 0.2% higher than the average wage growth in the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economy is far from perfect, and many Americans have yet to feel the impact of these improvements, but it’s a safe bet people’s opinions on the economy will improve in the months ahead. If Trump saw these kind of figures when he was president, we never would’ve heard an end to the bragging.

Biden's accomplishments as president have been significant

But Biden is president, so Democrats, as they are wont to do, grouse and moan and fret and wonder if there’s a younger, more dynamic candidate out there.

While painted by the right as doddering and inept, Biden has enacted wide-ranging legislation, from a $1 trillion infrastructure bill to the Inflation Reduction Act. He appointed the first Black woman to ever sit on U.S. Supreme Court. He signed the Respect for Marriage Act protecting same-sex and interracial marriages. He united NATO over the war in Ukraine.

And last I checked, everyone is still allowed to say, “Merry Christmas.”

Now consider Biden's opponent, the guy who wants 'Muslim ban'

The man isn’t flawless by any stretch. His age shows. He has failed to tackle illegal immigration and the dire situation along the U.S.-Mexico border. And now some liberals are furious with him for his strong support of Israel in its war against Hamas.

But let’s examine the Republican fellow Biden will almost surely be running against.

For starters, if you don’t like Biden’s handling of the Middle East, wait until you see what Trump would do. This is the man who created a Muslim travel ban and has said that he'd restart that immediately. He recently said that he'd send immigration officials to “pro-jihadist demonstrations” to arrest or deport “radical anti-American and antisemitic foreigners.”

A second Trump term would be a revenge tour and a nightmare

On abortion rights, one of the most motivating issue for voters in the past several elections, Trump has bragged about choosing the three conservative Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. He would undoubtedly comply with a Republican push for a national abortion ban.

Republicans and abortion: Want to see what Republicans want for abortion rights nationally?

He has taken to openly speaking about his desire to be a dictator, if only for one day. The Washington Post reported in November: “Donald Trump and his allies have begun mapping out specific plans for using the federal government to punish critics and opponents should he win a second term, with the former president naming individuals he wants to investigate or prosecute and his associates drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office to allow him to deploy the military against civil demonstrations.”

While pretending to cater to the hardworking middle class, at a recent speech, Trump told a group of wealthy donors, “We’re gonna give you tax cuts.”

And then, of course, there's the matter of Trump's criminal cases

Trump is drowning in legal peril, facing racketeering charges in an election interference case in Georgia and federal charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government in a case centered around the domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Oh yeah, he helped incite a violent attack and continues to deny the results of the free-and-fair 2020 presidential election. And he was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll, and a New York judge in September found him liable for fraud.

Trump could well be broke, convicted of a state or federal crime, or even incarcerated – possibly all three – at some point before next year’s election.

People forget how awful it was waking up knowing Trump was president

As the race of the presidency ramps up next year, Americans will be reminded – via constant coverage – of who Trump is and the daily fear and frustration he brought to his first term as president.

So which party should be sweating over its likely presidential candidate right now?

Trump the dictator? Republicans assure us it was a joke. What could go wrong?

You think Biden is too old? Trump is only 3.5 years younger, and he carries more baggage than O’Hare International Airport the week before Christmas.

Liberals need to stop panicking about Biden and start working

I am not now nor have I ever been a passionate fan of Biden. Frankly, I’m not a fan of any politician.

But I can say objectively that if someone asked me who I’d rather be right now as a political candidate – Joe Biden or Donald Trump – it would be Biden, and it wouldn’t be even remotely close.

Perhaps my fellow liberals should stop panicking, change their bedsheets and just focus on putting in the work.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden vs. Trump? I'm betting on Joe in 2024, and the facts back me up