Trump's 'fitness for office' could be key to crippling his third presidential bid: analyst

Although it's possible the 2024 presidential election could be a complete rerun of the 2020 competition, the cycle could instead focus on whether Trump is fit to hold the office, according to an analysis from the Washington Post.

Dan Balz, chief correspondent covering national politics for the Post, argues that "the GOP primaries and the general election could focus on the ex-president’s fitness for office" as opposed to policy debates.

"Donald Trump’s televised town hall on CNN framed an important question for voters: What will, or should, the 2024 presidential election be about?" Balz asked Saturday. "Will it be about the normal issues and concerns of most elections — topical issues such as the economy, immigration, abortion? Or should it primarily be about the existential threats posed by the reckless former president?"

Balz says Trump's fitness and the potential dangers another Trump term could pose represent the "elephant in the room" when discussing the election.

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"In many ways, the election next year will look and feel like all elections: the return of in-person national conventions; boisterous campaign rallies; saturation advertising especially in the battleground states (more negative than positive by far); heavy efforts to mobilize the parties’ bases with a modicum of outreach to the small percentage of genuine swing voters," the correspondent wrote. "Put aside the elephant in the room and it’s just like elections always were."

Balz further said some will continue ducking the important issues that could shape the election.

"Republican voters will render the initial judgments, both in their perceptions of Trump vs. his rivals but as well as in how much they perceive him as outside the mainstream of American politics," he wrote. "Some of his rivals may attack directly. Others are likely to tiptoe around the big question about his fitness for office and the dangers another term in the White House would represent."