First Lady Jill Biden on Tuesday morning revealed she has not discussed whether President Joe Biden should run again in 2024 amid questions around her husband’s age and health.
“He’s been a little bit too busy. Not yet, but I’m sure they’ll be discussions,” Jill Biden remarked. But she suggested that he should run for office again.
“You know, it is taxing,” Biden added, saying, “I just think he needs to keep going.”
About a month ago, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted Biden would mount another presidential reelection campaign.
“We’ll say this, we have said this before, it’s like we get it, we understand what the American people are feeling at this time. This is a number one priority, inflation has been a number one priority for this president. Lowering costs has been a number one priority for this president,” Jean-Pierre told ABC’s “This Week” in August, responding to various criticisms against the Biden administration.
Health Concerns
Since Biden took office last January, questions have swirled about his age, mental acuity, and overall health status.He’s currently the oldest person to have become president. Biden will turn 80 years old in November, making him the first octagenarian commander-in-chief.
In June, CNN host Don Lemon interviewed Jean-Pierre, asking: “Does the president have the stamina physically and mentally do you think to continue on even after 2024?”
Biden has acknowledged that his being elderly is a factor for people, saying before he was sworn in that “it’s a legitimate question to ask about my age.”
Weeks after the Jean-Pierre interview, Biden tested positive for COVID-19, took a course of Paxlovid, and experienced what doctors said is a “rebound” in his symptoms.