Wait, what? Every other time Biden has been asked, point blank, in the last six months, he’s said unequivocally that he plans to run for re-election.
You could argue that “planning” or “intending” isn’t actually a decision to do something, but that’s not the way Biden couched his answers previously. Did something change in the way he’s approaching this question now? It has seemed implausible, perhaps just purely due to age alone, that Biden would consider a run in 2024 given the long and grueling process. Plus he’d have to campaign outside his basement this time which would make his job harder.
This exchange with Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes about whether Biden intends to run for re-election seems rather non-committal:
President Biden told 60 Minutes last Thursday that while he intends to run for re-election in 2024, the decision is still up in the air.
“Sir, are you committed to running again, or are there certain conditions that have to be right?” Pelley asked.
“Look, if I were to say to you, I’m running again, all of a sudden, a whole range of things come into play that I have– requirements I have to change and move and do,” Mr. Biden said. “In terms of election laws. and it’s much too early to make that kind of decision. I’m a great respecter of fate. And so, what I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m gonna do that job. And within the timeframe that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.”
“You say that it’s much too early to make that decision,” Pelley said. “I take it the decision has not been made in your own head?”
“Look, my intention as I said to begin with is that I would run again,” the president said. “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”
My intention would be to run but some stuff might come up that makes me change my mind? That’s the way politicians crack open a window through which they eventually intend to escape.
It’s also a strong departure from the answer given back in July which was much more definitive by White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre:
“First of all, let’s reset for a second,” Jean-Pierre responded. “I cannot talk about elections. I cannot be a political analyst from here or, you know, or the midterms or anything like that or including 2024.”
“The president, as you know, has been asked that question many times, and he has answered it,” she added. “His answer has been pretty simple, which is, yes, he’s running for reelection. I can’t say more than that.”
From “Yes, he’s running for re-election,” to “that’s my intention but I’m not sure” seems like something changed in Biden’s thinking or in his inner circle.
Perhaps some of the other grumblings back in July are starting to push their way into the conversation:
The White House response came two days after comments by David Axelrod, President Barack Obama’s chief strategist, who told The New York Times: “The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue.”
“Democrats need fresh, bold leadership for the 2024 presidential race. That can’t be Biden,” lawyer and Democratic National Committee member Shelia Huggins told the paper.
It seems not only implausible but extremely unlikely Biden would seek a second term. His record with inflation that’s still raging like a five-alarm fire and an ongoing war in Europe which has its roots in Biden’s bad foreign policy are both albatrosses around his neck.
Other stories of Biden setting up a campaign to announce sometime after the midterms could be a smokescreen intended to keep questions at bay.
The only certainty, perhaps, is that after the midterms, there won’t be time for the dust to settle before the political world takes a tilt toward the 2024 presidential campaign. Warning, whiplash ahead.
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