WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden challenged voters to pick another Democrat if they have concerns about his age, while declaring himself healthy enough for a second term.

If a voter concludes “that I’m missing a beat then she should support some other Democrat”, the president said in an interview segment with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart that aired on Sunday.

“Right now, knock on wood, I don’t want to jinx myself, I’m in good health – all of my, everything physically about me is still functioning well. And mentally, too, so,” said Biden, who turns 80 on Nov 20. 

In a portion of the interview that aired on Friday, Biden reiterated that he intends to run again and would wait until after the Nov 8 midterm election to decide. He said first lady Jill Biden supports him running for re-election in 2024, when he’ll turn 82.

While polls by CNN and the New York Times over the summer found a majority of Democrats would prefer a presidential candidate other than Biden in 2024, a Marquette University Law School poll in September found 52 per cent of Democrats supporting a re-election campaign.

Biden has repeatedly said he believes he could beat former president Donald Trump in a rematch.

He told “60 Minutes” last month that he’ll make his decision about running again “within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year”. BLOOMBERG