What to Know in Washington: Biden 2024 Choice to Follow Midterms
President Joe Biden will decide whether to run for re-election after congressional elections in November.
“It’s much too early to make that kind of decision,” Biden said in a “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday. “What I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m gonna do that job, and within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.”
Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, has repeatedly attested to plans to run for re-election in 2024, despite his age — he will turn 80 in November — and low approval ratings. While the president reaffirmed his intention to run for office again, he also conveyed that the decision was not yet final.
“Is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” Biden said, according to a transcript of the interview. After interviewer Scott Pelley noted that Biden is the oldest president ever, Biden joked, “pretty good shape, huh?”
The president also pointed to election-law requirements that take effect once a candidate officially declares candidacy as reason to wait on a decision, saying that “all of a sudden a whole range of things come into play” if he were to make his intentions official. Akayla Gardner recaps highlights from the interview.
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Elections & Politics
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Around the Administration
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To contact the reporters on this story: Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com; Michaela Ross in Washington at mross@bgov.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Giuseppe Macri at gmacri@bgov.com