President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday that he plans to run for re-election in 2024 — while also tweaking his predecessor, Donald Trump
During his first press conference as president, 64 days into his term, he was asked by a reporter, “Have you decided whether you are going to run for re-election in 2o24? You haven’t set up a re-election campaign yet, as your predecessor had at this time.”
Biden laughed and said, “My predecessor needed to. My predecessor… Oh, God, I miss him.”
A few in attendance laughed, but he went on, “The answer is yes. My plan is to run for re-election. That is my expectation.”
The question itself received some criticism for focusing on re-election efforts just weeks into Biden’s first term. Reporters and historians pointed out that Trump did not uphold precedent, but rather broke with it, when he set up his re-election campaign so close to the beginning of his first (and only) term in office.
Biden also said that he expected to retain Kamala Harris as his vice president, adding that “she’s doing a great job.”
Still, he stopped short of announcing a re-election bid. “I’m a great respecter of fate,” he said. “I’ve never been able to plan four and a half, three and a half years ahead for certain.”
Elsewhere during the press conference, Biden laid out other stark contrasts with Trump. “All I know is I’ve been hired to solve problems, not create division,” Biden said in response to the first question, and elsewhere made distinctions in his approach to issues such as North Korea, China and the treatment of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Biden also addressed the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, announcing that his administration will double its goal of delivering 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days, to 200 million. The amount of vaccines distributed to Americans surpassed the initial goal of 100 million last week.
Watch the clip of Biden confirming his expected re-election run below.
“My predecessor, oh god I miss him” pic.twitter.com/OHJXWvEBS0
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 25, 2021