U.S. President Joe Biden said he intends to run for re-election and would likely make a final decision by early next year. Biden has faced questions on whether he will seek a second term and run for president again in 2024.
“Our intention is to run again, that’s been our intention,” Biden told reporters at the White House after the midterms.
“This is ultimately a family decision,” Biden said, adding that his family wanted him to run and he did not feel rushed to make a final decision.
Biden’s political prospects were boosted by a stronger-than-expected performance by the Democrats in the midterm elections.
On Tuesday, Democrats avoided sweeping defeats in Congress but still risk losing control of both houses in Congress to the Republicans.
The outcome of the vote handed a win to Biden and the Democrat party overall, which had been predicted to suffer a big defeat. It also dealt a blow to the presidential ambitions of former president Donald Trump.
Biden said he would make his own presidential candidacy announcement unrelated to any announcement from his 2020 rival Trump, who he defeated.
Trump was not shy about counting on victories by Republican candidates he endorsed to power him into a third presidential run for 2024.
Trump was labeled the biggest loser of the midterm elections. The clearest victory for the former president’s party was seized by Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, who is considered Trump’s most likely challenger for the Republican presidential nomination.
When asked who would be the toughest competitor, Biden said: “It would be fun watching them take on each other.”
A Biden adviser said preparatory discussions for a 2024 campaign were underway. The comment came after Biden declared the results of this week’s midterm elections good for democracy.
Biden has spent his first two years in office warning against threats to democracy after Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and did not accept Biden’s legitimate victory.
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