Biden fuels re-election speculation
US President Joe Biden has helped to drive speculation about his possible presidential candidacy in 2024, telling reporters to “stay tuned” when asked if he would seek another four years in the White House. Some media reports have said the president is expected to declare his candidacy as soon as this week.
Biden was greeted with a flurry of questions from journalists following a meeting with several Tennessee state representatives in the Oval Office on Monday, with some asking about his plans for 2024.
“Mr. President, why do you want four more years?” one reporter said, with Biden replying “So I get to answer your questions.” Asked about his “campaign message,” the president simply said “Stay tuned.”
While Biden has yet to formally launch a re-election bid, he has hinted that he would on several occasions over the last year. According to three sources familiar with Biden’s plans cited by the Associated Press, the president will release a video to announce a campaign in the coming days, suggesting he could do so on April 25 – exactly four years to the day after he declared his candidacy in the 2020 presidential contest.
Over the weekend, another unnamed official also told Reuters that Biden’s team had already selected a campaign manager for 2024, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who now serves as a senior adviser in the White House and previously worked as Biden’s deputy campaign chief in 2020. Though the president has not officially offered her the position, the source said Rodriguez agreed to take the job if given the opportunity.
According to the outlet, Biden is expected to retain his inner circle of advisers, some of whom also worked on his last presidential bid, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was a foreign policy staffer for his 2020 campaign.
However, Biden is likely to face scrutiny over his age, as the 80-year-old leader is the oldest serving president in US history. During Monday’s Oval Office appearance, he was also asked to address that concern, but offered no response. Biden was inaugurated at the age of 78, and would be 86 years old by the end of his second term, if re-elected.
Recent polling suggests Biden’s age is a major worry for voters, with an NBC News survey released over the weekend showing 70% of those polled believe he should not run again in 2024, including 51% from his own party. Of those opposed to a re-election campaign, 69% cited concerns over Biden’s age as a factor.
