President Biden’s inauguration started the race for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, but it also left the Democratic side in a state of flux.
Four years ago, former President Donald Trump filed his paperwork on the same day he was sworn in with the Federal Election Commission that opened the door for his 2020 reelection bid as he raked in cash from supporters. Biden, however, didn’t take the same step on Jan. 20, 2021.
During her first briefing last week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked why not.
“His focus is not on politics,” she told reporters. She added that he would wait “some time into his first term” to discuss his future plans.
The president dodged a similar question during the transition. He was pressed on whether submitting a statement of candidacy, which basically affects how he fundraises, would stop the speculation that he intends on being a one-term, so-called “lame duck” president. Biden instead latched on the “lame duck” part of the query.
“I’m not going to be a lame duck. Just watch me,” Biden told reporters in December.
But his comment hasn’t quelled talk regarding the next presidential election cycle.
For Republican strategist Henry Barbour, there are no upsides for Biden to appear that he is not planning to seek a second term.
“He can always reconsider if circumstances change, but the current status will only undermine his agenda and create friction with Democrats thinking about how best to position for 2024 — a big distraction for the Biden agenda,” he told the Washington Examiner of the paper trail.
During the 2020 Democratic primary, Biden was dogged by questions over his age and mental acuity. At 78, he’s the oldest president ever to be sworn into office. But he deflected critical Democrats by referring to himself as a “bridge” to future leaders in the party.
But on Inauguration Day, close ally Delaware Sen. Chris Coons told an interviewer that Biden is “planning to run again.”
“He knows that we are at the middle of an absolute turning point, a pivot point in American history. And he’s up for the challenge,” Coons said.
Biden has indicated as much publicly, saying last summer after the Democratic nominating convention that he would “absolutely” seek a second term.
Biden aides were also quick to dispute an earlier media report suggesting that he didn’t want another four years in office.
“Lots of chatter out there on this so just want to be crystal clear: this is not a conversation our campaign is having and not something VP Biden is thinking about,” now-White House communications director Kate Bedingfield tweeted at the time.
Prior to announcing his candidacy in April 2019, Biden dismissed the idea of a one-term pledge as a “gimmick,” according to one report. But while he and his team tried to downplay conjecture, he himself stirred the pot.
“I feel good, and all I can say is, ‘Watch me, you’ll see,’” Biden told the Associated Press in the fall of 2019. “It doesn’t mean I would run a second term. I’m not going to make that judgment at this moment.”
Biden conceded that his age was a “totally legitimate” campaign issue, at least in a fall 2018 interview.
Biden, however, delayed divulging his medical records until just before the Iowa caucuses, the first time he had updated the public about his health since 2008 after he joined former President Barack Obama’s ticket as vice president. While disclosing an already known irregular heartbeat, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the newly reinstated White House physician, declared him “fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”
Biden’s flubs, exacerbated by his speech impediment, provided the fodder for Trump’s “Sleepy Joe” nickname for him. Trump’s staffers encouraged the moniker, suggesting Biden wasn’t “playing with a full deck.” But after a primary in which his rivals needled him over his age, Biden addressed general election voter and reporter concerns by spinning his years as “experience” and being candid that it was a factor in his running mate selection.
Republican strategist Ron Nehring insisted posturing regarding another four years of Biden was “a non-issue.”
“No one expects him to seek a second term, and questions about 2024 are likely to be seen as a distraction from the immediate need to address the pandemic,” Nehring said. “Even if he were to seek a second term, I think filing such papers after the 2022 midterm elections would be entirely appropriate for him.”
Meanwhile, Trump is stoking rumors of a political return. Trump’s focus is on his second Senate impeachment trial, but he mentioned the possibility of a comeback twice on his final day in office. He first raised the prospect with reporters gathered on the White House South Lawn for his departure and then again during his farewell remarks at Joint Base Andrews before he flew to Florida.
In West Palm Beach, Trump repeated to the Washington Examiner: “We’ll do something, but not just yet.”
