Joe Biden to contest 2024 US elections? President says…
2 min read . Updated: 10 Apr 2023, 10:46 PM IST
PremiumPresident Joe Biden said he plans to participate in “at least three or four more Easter egg rolls, maybe five.”
Joe Biden and Donald Trump may be headed for a fresh showdown in 2024 with both leaders indicating their plans to run for a fresh term at the helm. The POTUS - considered a tad too old by many - has however not made an official announcement thus far.
"I plan on running…but we're not prepared to announce it yet," Biden told NBC's Today show ahead of the White House Easter Egg Roll. He had said last November that he would decide in early 2023 whether he would run again.
The rumours had also been confirmed towards the end of February by the First Lady.
"I'm all for it, of course," Jill Biden told CNN, adding that she she expects him to announce a campaign in the coming weeks. She had also dismissed a question on whether the 80-year-old Democrat might opt out of a run in 2024.
While his top aides have discussed the possibility of building a campaign for months now, Biden is yet to make a final decision. The President has already road tested his message in battleground states. Echoing the previous polls, both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have indicated that they will run together.
The oldest man to be elected president of the US, Biden has faced many a jibe about his age and stamina in the past four years. The senior Democratic leader would be 86 at the end of a second term - a fact that appears to concern many Americans.
According to recent polls a majority of Americans (including Democrats) do not want Biden to seek a second term. But the POTUS faces only token opposition in the Democratic primary field and no major party figures have said they are willing to challenge him.
Biden meanwhile has taken to parries such jabs with uneasy humor.
"All the years I was a senator -- which were 270..." he joked last week while talking about his lengthy political career.
"Do you think I need it?" he joked to the press last autumn when asked about the date of his annual medical checkup. One might be interested to know that the presidential physician made assurances that Biden was in good health and “fit for duty" after carrying out the physical exam in February.
(With inputs from agencies)