Is it pushing for a second term?
Joe Biden, the oldest US president in office, confirmed on Friday that he intends to announce his candidacy for a second presidential term in 2024, but not immediately. “My intention is… to run, and it has been from the beginning,” the 80-year-old Democrat said in an interview with ABC News on Friday. His wife, Jill Biden, told The Associated Press earlier Friday that all that was left was for him to decide when and where to announce his campaign entry. Asked about this interview, Joe Biden responded with a joke without confirming or denying it. However, he stated that he was in no hurry. “There are, in the short term, too many other things that we have to finish before we start the campaign,” he said of the reforms undertaken by his administration.
Asked if his age influenced his decision to run or not, he replied, “No. But it’s legitimate for people to wonder about my age. “It’s completely legitimate.” “All I can say is: pay attention to what I do,” he added, seeming to allude to the balance sheet of the first two years in the White House. Joe Biden would end his second term at the age of 86. A medical examination carried out last week concluded that he is “vigorous” and “fit” to carry out his duties. However, Biden’s recent statements contrast sharply with indications from his 2020 presidential campaign, when one Biden advisor told Politico about 2024: “If Biden is elected, he’ll be 82 years old in four years, and he won’t be running for reelection.” Another adviser added, “He’s going into this thinking, ‘I want to find a running mate I can turn things over to after four years, but if that’s not possible or doesn’t happen, then I’ll run for reelection.’ But he’s not going to publicly make a one-term pledge. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies Biden’s 2020 rival, who has never been equivocal about his intentions to run in 2024: Donald Trump. Despite the recent Mar-a-Lago raid and explosive discoveries that followed, Trump announced in November that he was running in 2024. The news about Biden falls one day after a grueling House Speaker race that spanned four days, in which Kevin McCarthy won the speakership on the 15th try. In a statement that congratulated McCarthy, Biden said, “The American people expect their leaders to govern in a way that puts their needs above all else, and that is what we need to do now.” “As I said after the midterms,” the statement continued, “I am prepared to work with Republicans when I can, and voters made clear that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well.” “Now that the leadership of the House of Representatives has been decided, it is time for that process to begin.”
By Paul Bumman
