Biden Says He Plans to Run for President Again in 2024 ‘If I’m in Good Health’

Biden Says He Plans to Run for President Again in 2024 ‘If I’m in Good Health’
President Joe Biden speaks during a speech at the White House in Washington on Dec. 21, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Jack Phillips
12/23/2021
Updated:
12/23/2021

President Joe Biden, the oldest individual to assume the presidency, said that he would run again for president in 2024 if he remains in good health and if former President Donald Trump decides to enter the race.

Speaking to ABC News in an interview published Wednesday, Biden offered several caveats. Since launching his 2020 campaign, Biden has been dogged by questions about health and whether he has the mental capacity to perform his duties.

“Yes,” Mr. Biden said when asked by ABC anchor David Muir about running. “But look, I’m a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then in fact, I would run again.”

Previously, Biden—during his first press conference earlier this year—told reporters that he is planning a run. Various White House officials have also repeatedly said Biden, who would be would be 82 years old during the next presidential Election Day in 2024, is planning to run.

During his Wednesday interview, Biden suggested that if former President Trump enters the race on the Republican side, it would increase the likelihood that he runs.

“Why would I not run against Donald Trump if were the nominee? That would increase the prospect of running,” Biden told ABC.

Biden’s remarks came about a week after Vice President Kamala Harris told the Wall Street Journal that she cannot comment on whether Biden will run again, saying they have not discussed any 2024 plans.
“I can’t speak to a conversation that the Vice President and the President has; I could only say what—and reiterate what Jen [Psaki] has said and what the President has said himself: that he is planning to run for re-election in 2024,” White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also told reporters earlier this month.

As for Trump, the former commander-in-chief has not made any definitive public statements on whether he will launch a 2024 bid. But in recent months, Trump made comments teasing a potential run.

“I think if I run, I‘ll get it,” he told Fox Business last month. “Look, I have a 94, 95 percent even, in the [Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) poll], I had a 98 percent approval rating. So if I decide to run, I’ll get it very easily.”

“Most people have said if I run, they won’t run against me, so I think that’s good,” he added, referring to potential GOP challengers.

Also, Trump told O’Reilly before a crowd that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a possible running mate “that I like a lot. I can tell you that.”
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
twitter
Related Topics