Biden says he will announce run for re-election in 2024 'soon'

KNOCK, Ireland – United States President Joe Biden said on Friday that

he has decided to run for a second term

and will formally announce his re-election campaign “relatively soon”.

“We will announce it relatively soon. But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done,” Mr Biden told reporters at the tail end of an emotional trip to Ireland.

“I told you my plan is to run again.”

Mr Biden has long said that he intends to run for re-election. But the lack of a formal announcement has sometimes given jitters to supporters unsure if the 80-year-old Democrat, one of the oldest world leaders, will really commit to another four-year term.

Yet behind the scenes, close aides and allies have already begun putting the steps in place to set up a campaign infrastructure and fund-raising apparatus ahead of a 2024 bid, which could be a re-run of the 2020 match-up with

former Republican president Donald Trump, who has already launched his campaign.

Mr Biden’s expected pitch is to “finish the job” after a first term that included several legislative wins, including billions of dollars in federal funds to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and for new infrastructure.

But Mr Biden’s age makes his re-election bid a historic and risky gamble for the Democratic Party, which faces a tough election map to hold the Senate in 2024 and is the minority in the House of Representatives now.

Mr Biden’s approval ratings are stuck in the low 40s; he would be 86 by the end of a prospective second term, nine years older than the average US male life expectancy.

Doctors declared Mr Biden, who does not drink alcohol and exercises five times a week, “fit for duty” after an examination in February.

The White House says his record shows that he is mentally sharp enough for the rigours of the job. REUTERS