WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden says he intends to seek re-election in 2024 amid growing concerns about his age, but will withhold a formal announcement because campaigning and fundraising rules change if he becomes an actual candidate.
"Once I make that judgment, a whole series of regulations kick in and ... I treat myself as a candidate from that moment on," Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday and Friday with MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart.
Biden also said "I have not made that formal decision" about the 2024 campaign, but "it's my intention – my intention to run again. And we have time to make that decision.”
Capehart later asked Biden to speak with his Aunt Gloria, a frequent guest on the program. The president said if she and other voters have concerns about his age, the best response is "to watch me ... am I slowing up?"
"I think Aunt Gloria should take a real hard look and if she concludes that I'm missing a beat, then she should support some other Democrat if they decide to run," Biden said.
Aunt Gloria later told Capehart she fully supports Biden.
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Throughout this midterm campaign year, some Democrats have publicly questioned whether Biden should run again. Some skeptics cited Biden's age – he turns 80 next month – while others mentioned a variety of political problems.
Calls for Biden's retirement could intensify if Democrats lose control of the House and Senate after Election Day next month.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who is locked in a tough Senate race with Republican J.D. Vance, said in September regarding Biden's re-election bid: “My hunch is that we need new leadership across the board – Democrats, Republicans, I think it’s time for a generational move."
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. said in July doesn't think Biden should run again, telling WCCO-AM: "I think the country would be well served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats to step up.”
Former President Donald Trump, who was defeated by Biden in 2020 but is mulling another campaign run in 2024, frequently criticizes Biden over his performance and his age. Trump allies over the weekend cited the Capehart interview, in which the president took an inordinately long pause when asked if first lady Jill Biden supports another campaign in 2024.
At Capehart's prompting – "Dr. Biden is for it? Mr. President?" – Biden replied that the first lady thinks that "we're doing something very important."
As for Trump, Biden has said he is confident he would again defeat Trump. He has also cast Trump and his "MAGA" movement as threats to democracy.
Asked about the fate of democracy, Biden said: "I think as long as we take seriously the threat, I don't think the threat can come to fruition."
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