Following reports that Sen. Bernie Sanders is leaving the door open for a 2024 presidential run, “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon couldn’t help but poke fun at the 81-year-old politician who’s previously lost in the Democratic primary after impressive 2016 and 2020 campaigns.
“Bernie still hasn’t decided – meanwhile everyone else is like, ‘How many times do we have to decide this? No,’” Fallon joked.
But the comedian did speculate that there’s likely at least one prominent Democrat who’d be keen on Sanders getting back in the campaign saddle: President Joe Biden. At 79, Biden is the oldest active president in the history of the U.S.
“Right now Biden is thinking: Please run so that I look like the hot, young stud. Please!” Fallon teased.
Sitting with “CBS Mornings” on Monday, Sanders said, “That’s big,” when asked about the possibility of running a 2024 presidential campaign. “You know, I haven’t made that decision,” he said.
Previously, the Democratic senator from Vermont staged his first major presidential run in 2016, ultimately losing the primary ticket to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. He again ran in 2020, losing to President Biden.
His priority now, he told CBS, is to travel around the country campaigning for like-minded politicians and “often young progressives” to hold elected office.
Watch the full monologue for Monday’s “The Tonight Show” in the video above.
