WASHINGTON: United States (US) President Joe Biden said Friday that he has taken a decision to run for the second term and that he would formally announce his re-election campaign “relatively soon.”
“We’ll announce it relatively soon. But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done,” Biden told reporters at the tail-end of what has been termed as an emotional trip to Ireland. “I told you my plan is to run again.”
Joe Biden has long said he intended to run for re-election but lack of a formal announcement has sometimes given jitters to his supporters unsure if the 80 years old Democrat would really commit to another four-year term.
Biden is one of the oldest world leaders at present. Yet behind the scenes, his allies and close aides have already started efforts so as to stand up a campaign infrastructure and fundraising apparatus ahead of the 2024 bid that could be a re-run of the 2020 match-up with ex-president, Republican Donald Trump, who has already launched his campaign for the election.
Biden’s is likely to rely on several legislative wins, including billions of dollars in the federal funds to cope with the Covid pandemic and for new infrastructure.
However, Biden’s age makes his re-election bid a risky and historic gamble for the Democratic Party, which also faces a tough election map to hold the Senate in 2024 and is minority in the House of Representatives at present. Biden would be 86 by the end of a prospective second term, almost nine years older than the average United States male life expectancy.
Doctors have declared Joe Biden, who hardly drinks alcohol and also exercises five times a week, “fit for duty” after an examination in February this year. The White House has said his record shows that he is mentally sharp enough for the rigours of the job.
