President Joe Biden appeared to cast doubt upon his own re-election when concluding a speech at the White House Tribal Nations Summit on Wednesday.
A man exclaimed “four more years” as Biden concluded his speech.
“I don’t know about that,” Biden said.
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Crowd member: “Four more years!”
Biden: “I don’t know about that.”pic.twitter.com/4YiONHEsjM
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 30, 2022
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The suggestion of uncertainty appears to contradict previous White House statements about Biden seeking a second term.
At a media briefing in June, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a firm statement, according to Fox News.
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“The president, as you know, has been asked that question many times, and he has answered it,” she said. “His answer has been pretty simple, which is, yes, he’s running for re-election. I can’t say more than that.”
Biden himself has generally expressed willingness to run for re-election when asked about the prospect, although he’s been hesitant to make any official announcement.
“My intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again,” he told Scott Pelley of “60 Minutes” in a September interview. “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”
During a post-midterm election news conference Nov. 9, the 80-year-old president said he intends to make his re-election plans clear “early next year,” according to Fox News.
However, he made it clear he is leaning in that direction.
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“Our intention is to run again. That’s been our intention, regardless of what the outcome of this election was,” he said, according to the Financial Times.
If re-elected, Biden would be the oldest president to be inaugurated for a four-year term, by far.
He would be 82 on the day he’s sworn in for a second term in 2025.
Biden would stand to finish his second term at the ripe age of 86, stretching well beyond the traditional age frames of American presidents.
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Ronald Reagan, the nation’s oldest president before Biden, left the White House at the age of 77, a year younger than Biden was when he took office in 2021.
Former President Donald Trump left office at the age of 74.
Should Biden decide against running for a second term, the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination would be up for grabs in a contest with no clear favorite.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated this month that he does not intend to challenge Biden in the Democratic primary, although it’s possible his plans could change in the event that Biden bows out from the presidential stage.
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This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.