Joe Biden’s Democrats seem to have escaped a feared drubbing in Tuesday’s midterm elections, but it remains to be seen whether that will revive the US president’s flagging fortunes until 2024 — or beyond.<\/p>\n

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The 79-year-old, who framed the race as a clash between defenders of democracy and the “extremist” camp of Donald Trump, spent election night in back-to-back calls with Democrats savoring their wins in Senate, House and gubernatorial races around the country.<\/p>\n

“Just got off the phone with some of tonight’s winners — including some folks I saw on the road this year,” Biden tweeted as the results came in — alongside a picture of himself in a turtle neck and baseball cap, seeming happy to take at least some of the credit.<\/p>\n

White House staff, according to the former press secretary Jen Psaki, were “giddy and gleeful” as results came in.<\/p>\n

The outcome taking shape was far from ideal for Democrats, who stand to lose the House of Representatives in what Biden has admitted will make his life much more “difficult” — likely hobbling parts of his agenda.<\/p>\n

But if overnight predictions hold and the Democrats lose the House by a handful of seats, with the Senate still in play, Biden’s camp will have vastly outperformed expectations.<\/p>\n

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– Choppy waters –<\/h2>\n

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The president’s party has traditionally lost seats in midterm elections and with Biden’s approval ratings stuck in the low 40s, and sky-high inflation topping voter concerns, Republicans had high hopes of seizing both chambers of Congress in a “red wave.”<\/p>\n

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Such a drubbing would have raised tough questions on whether America’s oldest-ever president, who turns 80 this month, should run again.<\/p>\n

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Instead Biden stands to emerge in much better shape than either of his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, who both took a hammering at the midterms.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Biden will be headed into choppy waters if the House flips.<\/p>\n

In a country whose divisions run deeper than ever, even a longtime senator and moderate Democrat like Biden will likely struggle to find common ground with a Republican-led chamber.<\/p>\n

Large parts of his legislative agenda could utterly stall as a result.<\/p>\n

Another open question is whether a new Republican leadership would keep its promise to aggressively hold the president to account — which even a slim House majority gives it the power to do.<\/p>\n

That could easily translate into endless congressional investigations targeting Biden, his record and his family.<\/p>\n

One of the loudest voices, far-right Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, has already promised stepped-up scrutiny of Biden’s son Hunter, who Republicans accuse of exploiting his father’s connections to do business with Ukraine and China.<\/p>\n

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– Eyes on 2024 –<\/h2>\n

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With control of the House, Republicans would also be able to apply considerable budgetary pressure on the president — with the potential to cut funding to the federal government.<\/p>\n

As for the Senate — which confers greater powers — its fate still hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n

But beyond, the big question facing Biden — and his Democrats — is who will carry the party’s colors into the 2024 White House race.<\/p>\n

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Until now the US president has consistently said he intends to seek a second term, and any suggestion to the contrary would have immediately undermined his authority.<\/p>\n

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But there is little appetite among the US public — or within his own party — for a second White House run by an octogenarian commander in chief.<\/p>\n

Biden leaves Friday on a diplomatic marathon taking him from the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, to Cambodia for an ASEAN summit, and on to Indonesia for the G20 gathering.<\/p>\n

The veteran Democrat may keep America guessing some time yet about his intentions for 2024.<\/p>\n

But with the president far from US shores, his rival Trump will be pressing ahead — promising a big reveal, widely expected to be a new White House run, next Tuesday in Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Biden’s Democrats seem to have escaped a feared drubbing in Tuesday’s midterm elections, but it remains to be seen whether that will revive the US president’s flagging fortunes until 2024 — or beyond.   The 79-year-old, who framed the race as a clash between defenders of democracy and the “extremist” camp of Donald Trump, spent election night in back-to-back calls with Democrats savoring their wins in Senate, House and gubernatorial races around the country. “Just got off the phone with some of tonight’s winners — including some folks I saw on the road this year,” Biden tweeted as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[544,545,562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","category-yeswecantv-news"],"yoast_head":"\n