President Joe Biden and people close to him are telling allies that he is planning to run for reelection in 2024, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
Biden, who turned 79 Saturday, is the oldest U.S. president, and will be 82 if he wins reelection in three years.
"The only thing I've heard him say is he’s planning on running again," former Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, a close friend of Biden's, told the Post. "And I’m glad he is."
According to the article, Biden told a small group of donors during a virtual fundraiser earlier this month the same, but reportedly hedged on running again by saying that three years early is a long time to definitively say.
"What he is saying publicly is what he firmly believes. There’s no difference," former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who the Post said attended the fundraising event. "He will not run if he feels he can’t do the job physically or emotionally."
The report comes 10 months into Biden's first term, and at a time of slipping poll numbers for the president; a Quinnipiac University poll recently showed just a 36% approval rating.
Biden’s drop in popularity began in earnest in August as the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus spread rapidly, the United States chaotically pulled out of Afghanistan after 20 years of war, and record numbers of illegal migrants crossed the southern border each month.
Some Democrats are questioning Biden’s sincerity in running again.
"I hear this question get asked every day," a Democratic veteran of recent presidential campaigns commented to the Post about whether Biden will run for reelection. "No one ever asked that question about Barack Obama. No one ever asked that question about Donald Trump."
While some may question his age and health, Biden was given a good report following a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, saying Biden was "healthy," and vigorous."
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