U.S. President Joe Biden plans to use his vacation time during the traditional ‘Thanksgiving’ and Christmas vacations to evaluate his possible candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections, all this after the legislative elections and following the request of some members of his party to make room for a new generation.
Biden, who has just turned 80 years old, has until the beginning of 2023 at the latest to present or not his candidacy to the primaries of the Democratic Party in order to run again for the Presidency of the United States.
So far, the U.S. president has reiterated on numerous occasions his intention to lead the White House until 2028, although he has not yet made his candidacy official.
In declarations one day after the midterm elections, and after verifying that the «red wave» predicted by the Republican Party in the legislative elections was not such, Biden announced that he must suspect the decision with his family, affirming that he is «a great respecter of destiny».
«I hope that Jill (the first lady) and I will have a little time to sneak away for a week, between Christmas and Thanksgiving,» the president detailed during a press conference, maintaining that it would be then that he would discuss with his family his options to run again as president.
«I think they want me to run, but they’re going to… we’re going to have discussions about it. And I don’t feel any rush in that regard,» Biden said of what his family would say.
However, there are voices within the Democratic Party calling for a facelift, especially since the leader would be 81 years old at the start of a second term.
Other historic leaders of the Democratic Party, such as Nancy Pelosi (82 years old), the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, or Congressman Steny Hoyerm (83 years old), have already announced that they will run again for their respective posts, clearing the way for younger Democrats.
The debate has also moved to the street level. For 62 percent of Americans, Biden is «too old to be president,» according to the Harvard-Harris poll released this month, adding age to the list of cons for a president who has lost popularity since last summer.
However, there are also times that defend Biden’s candidacy in the face of a possible campaign by former President Donald Trump, who filed in mid-November his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking to ‘The Hill’, New York University presidential historian Timothy Naftali has argued that part of the reason Biden might want to run for a second term is to face Trump again, especially after cushioning Republicans better than other Democratic presidents.
«Does the country still need him to avoid another Trump presidency? I think that’s why Joe Biden ran, to stop Trump, and I suspect if you ask him [President Biden], plus Russian President Vladimir]Putin, what are the big concerns he has for our republic, it will be the return of Donald Trump,» he has said.
