President Joe Biden affirmed his intention to seek re-election in 2024, but the date of a formal announcement remains unclear.
"I plan on running, Al, but we’re not prepared to announce it yet," Biden told Al Roker on NBC’s Today.
Biden has repeatedly indicated he plans to run despite chronically low approval ratings. The president told reporters in November that he needed to discuss his re-election plans with his wife, Jill, and that they would make a decision in early 2023. His statement came just over a week after an NPR-OBS NewsHour-Marist poll found 44% of Democrats believed it was necessary to replace Biden in order to retain control of the White House in 2024.
NBC reports that “top White House advisers are preparing to make final decisions on launching his re-election campaign” and that “several considerations in the decision-making process include that no major Democratic challenger has emerged.”
Biden began his presidency in January of 2021 with a 53% approval rating that declined rapidly amid his withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan in August of 2021.
The 80-year-old has held federal office since he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 at the age of 29. He is currently the oldest president in the nation's history. By Aug. 30, 2021, Biden’s disapproval rating surpassed his approval rating and has remained substantially higher ever since. Biden has a 52.5% disapproval rating and 42.8% approval rating as of April 11.
Although the Democratic National Convention may consider him the most significant contender for the nomination if he decides to formally announce, Biden is not the only candidate in the race.
Robert F. Kennedy announced his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination and is scheduled to make his formal announcement on April 19 in Boston. The 69-year-old is the oldest son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy. An environmental lawyer and author, Kennedy gained a reputation as an anti-vaccine activist because of his views regarding vaccines and mandates. He runs the medical advocacy nonprofit the Children's Health Defense and published the book The Real Anthony Fauci criticizing the doctor’s stance on the COVID-19 vaccine and alternative treatments using ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
Kennedy will join Marianne Williamson who became the first Democrat to announce a 2024 presidential campaign on March 4. The author and spiritual counselor previously campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
She told The Nation her campaign was not about Biden.
“This is about ending a 50-year aberrational chapter of American history and beginning a new one,” said Williamson. “Neoliberalism has devastated not only our economy—creating the greatest income inequality in 100 years—it has infected every aspect of our culture with injustice and despair. It’s time for us to recognize that, cut the cord, and begin again.”
Former President Donald Trump announced he would seek the Republican presidential nomination for a third time in November of 2022. He has been joined by entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson.
