During an interview with the American channel ABC, Biden put an end to all the speculation that had been circulating for months on Saturday. “It has always been my intention to run for office again,” he says. But the president is in no hurry, because there are “a lot of other things we have to finish soon before I start the campaign.” There will also be an official nomination, and analysts expect that to happen in April.
Unsurprisingly, potential campaign strategies have been pitched behind closed doors in the West Wing for months. But his age raises questions. At 80 years old, Biden is the oldest serving president in US history, and criticism has intensified in recent years. “If you’re looking for Joe Biden on TikTok, the first suggestions that come to mind are ‘confusion’, ‘nonsense’ and ‘state of mind’,” Volkskrant reporter Maral Naushad Sharifi previously wrote.
For this reason, not all Democratic voters are equally excited: Biden will turn 86 at the end of his second term. “It’s perfectly legitimate for people to question that,” Biden said in the interview. with ABC. “And all I can say is look at me.”
Biden’s personal physician said earlier this month that the president is “a healthy, energetic 80-year-old” who is capable of performing his duties. The President of the United States undergoes an annual medical examination, the results of which are made public. The report only touched on minor issues such as heartburn, seasonal allergies, and walking difficulties.
Biden’s senior adviser on the decision, First Lady Jill Biden, said Friday during a tour of Africa in Nairobi that the president wants to run for a second term. He says it’s not over yet. He didn’t finish what he started, and that’s what matters.
Most Democratic politicians wouldn’t want to challenge Biden internally if he ran for office. Opposition candidates for the 2020 campaign are now in his administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Others (Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar) say they sincerely hope he returns to the ballot in 2024.
Earlier last week, a poll came out with good news for President Biden’s position: Half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents think the party has a better chance with Biden as the nominee, while 45 percent think they’re better off with someone else. This is an improvement over opinion polls in November last year. At the time, 54 percent favored someone else, and only 38 percent supported the president.
The poll also had bad news for Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination: 42 percent think he has the best chances, while 54 percent of Republicans think they would be better off with another candidate.
