Washington: Joe Biden on Wednesday said he intends to run for re-election in 2024, a day after one of the best US midterm election performances by a Democratic president in four decades, adding that he will consult his wife Jill Biden over the coming holidays before making a final announcement early next year
The Republicans on Thursday were edging closer to winning control of the House of Representatives with a narrow majority, while the Senate was still too close to call, as election results trickled in. Results were still awaited from Senate races in Arizona and Nevada, while Georgia was scheduled for a run-off in December. But, in the absence of what many expected to be a “red wave”, Democrats framed the election outcomes as a success.
At a press conference on Wednesday, when asked about how the midterm results will shape his decision on 2024, Biden said, “Our intention is to run again. That’s been our intention, regardless of what the outcome of this election was.”
The president said he believed everyone wanted him to run.
“We are going to have discussions about it. And I don’t feel any hurry, one way or another, to make that judgment today, tomorrow, whenever, no matter what my predecessor does.”
{{/usCountry}}“We are going to have discussions about it. And I don’t feel any hurry, one way or another, to make that judgment today, tomorrow, whenever, no matter what my predecessor does.”
{{/usCountry}}Former Republican president Donald Trump is expected to launch his presidential bid on November 15, though after the setback in midterms, where many of the candidates he backed lost, reports suggest his advisers have recommended he push the announcement till after the Georgia run-off. The Republican landscape shifted dramatically post-midterms, with Florida governor Ron DeSantis also emerging as a key contender for the party’s presidential nomination.
But Biden also added that he believed in fate.
“I am a great respecter of fate. And this is, ultimately, a family decision.”
When pressed about the timeline again, Biden said that he was hoping to take a week off later this year and would mull the decision then, adding, “My guess is it would be early next year we make that judgment.”