President Joe Biden said in an interview on Thursday that it is “much too early” to decide whether or not to run for reelection in 2024 and that he will wait until after the midterm elections in November to come to a final conclusion on the matter.
“And it’s much too early to make that kind of decision. I’m a great respecter of fate. And so, what I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m gonna do that job. And within the timeframe that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.”
Biden reiterated that he still has not made a decision on the move, adding: “Look, my intention as I said to begin with, is that I would run again but it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”
That is despite concerns over his physical health, mental acuity, and age. Biden is the oldest person to have become president and will celebrate his 80th birthday in November.
Pandemic Has Been Profound
When asked why he believes his support has declined, Biden on Thursday cited the COVID-19 pandemic, which he declared to be over, but said has had a big “impact on the psyche of the American people.”
“This is a really difficult time. We’re at an inflection point in the history of this country,” Biden said. “We’re gonna make decisions, and we’re making decisions now, that are gonna determine what we’re gonna look like the next ten years from now. I think you'd agree that the impact on the psyche of the American people as a consequence of the pandemic is profound. Think of how that has changed everything.”
“You know, people’s attitudes about themselves, their families, about the state of the nation, about the state of their communities. And so there’s a lot of uncertainty out there, a great deal of uncertainty. And we lost a million people—a million people to COVID,” Biden continued.
Biden declared that COVID was still a problem and that his administration is still “doing a lotta work on it” but added that the pandemic is now over.
“If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing,” he said.
“When I got in office, when I got elected, only 2 million people had been vaccinated. I got 220 million, my point is it takes time. We were left in a very difficult situation. it’s been a very difficult time, very difficult,” he said.
When asked whether he believed he was fit and healthy enough to embark on another reelection bid, Biden replied: “Watch me. And honest to God, that’s all I think. Watch me.”
“If you think I don’t have the energy level or the mental acuity, then, you know, that’s one thing. It’s another thing, you just watch and, you know, keep my schedule, do what I’m doing. I think that, you know—when I sit down with our NATO allies and keep them together, I don’t have them saying, ‘Wait a minute, how old are you?’”
“I respect the fact that people would say, you know, ‘You’re old,’” Biden continued, “But I think it relates to how much energy you have and whether or not the job you’re doing is one consistent with what any person of any age would be able to do.”
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