Joe Biden has all but confirmed that he intends to run for the Oval Office again in 2024.
The president made the announcement on Monday on NBC’s Today show in remarks to host Al Roker, saying he plans on running for re-election but is not prepared for a formal announcement quite yet.
Roker drew out Biden’s comment about his widely anticipated re-election run before the White House’s annual Easter egg roll. The event involves people rolling brightly dyed hard-boiled eggs on the White House lawn with spoons on Easter Monday, and Roker asked Biden whether he planned to participate in the egg rolls after the next presidential election in 2024.
“I plan on at least three or four more Easter Egg rolls,” Biden said. Possibly realizing that would mean he was out of office midway through a second term, he added: “Maybe five, maybe six, what the hell?”
When Roker asked the president to elaborate, Biden replied: “I plan on running again … but we’re not prepared to announce it yet.”
Biden’s aides have said a formal announcement could come this month, after the first fundraising quarter ends. That is around the time that Barack Obama – for whom Biden was vice-president – officially launched his 2012 re-election campaign.
Biden is 80, and would be 86 at the end of a second four-year term. The self-help author Marianne Williamson has formally announced an intent to run for the Democratic party’s nomination, as has Robert Kennedy Jr, the son of Bobby and nephew of President John F Kennedy.
On the mainstream Republican side, Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, his former secretary of state Nikki Haley, and ex-governor Asa Hutchinson have declared themselves as candidates for 2024. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, is also widely expected to join that field at some point.
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