President Joe Biden said he intends to run for the White House in 2024 but shied away from making a promise to seek reelection when he would be 82.
“The answer is yes, my plan is to run for reelection,” he said during his first press conference since taking office. “That’s my expectation.”
He shrugged off a comparison with his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, who had already set up a reelection committee within his first months in office.
“My predecessor needed to. … Oh God, I miss him,” he joked.
GAFFE-PRONE PRESIDENT BATTLES PERCEPTIONS ABOUT HIS AGE
.@JoeBiden says running for reelection in 2024 is his “plan” and “expectation.”
Read more: https://t.co/zU3Q9jiXMj pic.twitter.com/runC1tG4Om
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 25, 2021
But he parried follow-up questions about whether his comments amounted to a commitment to run in 2024.
“Look, I don’t know where you guys come from, man. … I’m a great respecter of fate,” he said. “I’ve never been able to plan three and a half, four years ahead, for certain.”
At 78 years of age, not only was Biden the oldest man ever to be inaugurated president, but he also became the oldest person to hold the office. On Inauguration Day, he was already 78 days older than President Ronald Reagan when he left office in 1989.
Running again would mean Biden would be 82 when sworn in a second time.
Many observers believe Vice President Kamala Harris would be best placed to succeed him.
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Biden said he would expect Harris to be on his ticket if he ran again but brushed off questions about whether he would face Trump in 2024.
“I have no idea if there will be a Republican Party,” he said. “Do you?”
