Psaki Speaks on Biden's 'Intention' for 2024

White House press chief says the president plans on running for a 2nd term
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 23, 2021 8:30 AM CST
Psaki Speaks on Biden's 'Intention' for 2024
President Biden speaks during an event in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington on Monday.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Talk of 2024 is already ramping up, and one of the key questions is: Will President Biden run again? The Hill notes a "flurry of reports" on such speculation, including a Washington Post article over the weekend reporting that the president and his inner circle have been telling Democratic allies he will indeed seek a second term. On Monday, his White House press chief confirmed that plan. "He is. That's his intention," Jen Psaki told reporters, per the Guardian.

The outlet notes both Biden's age—he's 79 now and would be almost 82 on Election Day in 2024—and his plummeting poll numbers as part of what's fueling whispers that maybe a reelection run isn't in the cards. And even with Psaki's assertion, it's still not a given Biden will take on 2024: Some say, for example, that he and his team may simply be saying he's running to keep his standing strong. Others are noting it's hard to predict what Biden's health will be like in three years, and that the next campaign will likely be a more strenuous one than the mostly remote 2020 campaign run during the pandemic.

A Politico report from earlier this month noted other Democrats who've boosted their "national profiles" of late, including three former presidential contenders: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. And then there's Biden's No. 2, Vice President Kamala Harris, who the Post notes has "stumbled in the eyes of many Democrats," and whose own job approval numbers fell below 30% in one recent poll. For those Democrats who've been hoping for another four years of Biden, however, the president's apparent plan is good news. "The only thing I've heard him say is he's planning on running again," former Sen. Chris Dodd says. "And I'm glad he is." (More President Biden stories.)

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