Discretion was never one of Joe Biden’s finest qualities.
On Monday at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, President Biden was briefly interviewed by Al Roker as part of the Today Show. Being the good pseudo-journalist that he is, Roker asked Biden about his plans in 2024 and how many more egg rolls he’d be presiding over in the future.
The result was a bumbling mess of words where Biden once again announced his intention to run, but then downplayed his statement as a non-announcement.
President Joe Biden said he plans to participate in “at least three or four more Easter egg rolls, maybe five.”
“I plan on running, Al, but we're not prepared to announce it yet,” Biden told Al Roker. https://t.co/BefBuTBNEC pic.twitter.com/GpKsYF8MkK
— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) April 10, 2023
“I plan on running, Al, but I’m not prepared to announce it yet”
In reality, then, nothing has changed for Biden. He’s been in a state of perpetual “planning to run” since January with no movement toward making an actual decision.
There are plenty of reasons why and perhaps the first and foremost is because he simply doesn’t have to announce it yet. There’s nothing forcing him to start a campaign and his inaction is keeping the Democratic primary field free and clear despite Governor Hairgel traveling the country.
Furthermore, former President Donald Trump is sucking all the political oxygen from the room for the moment. If Biden did announce his campaign, it would be forgotten five seconds later since it’s been expected for quite some time now.
On the other hand, there is also plenty of speculation, some from within Biden’s inner circle, that keeping his options open will provide Biden an exit from the political stage if he decides not to pursue a second term.
The reasoning for this dates back to 2015 when it seemed clear that Biden intended to run as Obama’s successor and seemed a sure lock to launch a campaign. All the build-up led to an announcement that Joe Biden was deferring in 2016 and would let Hillary Clinton take another crack at it.
Could the same happen in 2024? Is Biden’s decision to “plan on running” but never make anything official a way to segue his party toward Vice President Kamala Harris as a successor to the Biden legacy? That seemed to be the scenario from the inception of the Biden-Harris administration. It was known that Joe Biden was fairly aged and would find serving two consecutive terms to be grueling for someone in their mid-80s.
Biden could serve as the stepping stone for someone to his political left offering a younger, more progressive vision for the country. It’s speculated that the only reason Kamala Harris joined the campaign, despite her differences with Jill Biden and calling Joe racist during the debates, was to use it as her next step toward the White House.
Nonetheless, Jill Biden remains insistent. Her husband, she claims, is running for a second term so stop asking:
It isn’t the first time the president has made clear his intentions, but his answer is further affirmation as Biden slips past his closest advisers’ previously outlined launch dates in February and, now, April. It’s also on par for Biden, who has been known for dragging his feet on decisions around seeking the presidency.
In November, Biden told reporters his intention “is to run again,” making clear it was his plan regardless of the midterm election results. Then in February, first lady Jill Biden told The Associated Press there’s “pretty much” nothing left to do but make the announcement.
“How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” the first lady said.
As noted, the people around Biden were under the impression a 2024 campaign would’ve already been launched by now. After all, it takes time and money to build a national campaign that will once again be one of the most expensive endeavors in the history of politics.
In summary, Joe Biden’s running in 2024, but don’t tell anyone about it.
