President Joe Biden told “TODAY” show co-host Al Roker on Monday that he plans to run for a second term in office.
“I plan on running, Al, but we’re not prepared to announce it yet,” he said.
Biden, 80, has consistently stated his plans to run for re-election. In a private conversation at the White House last year, he told the Rev. Al Sharpton that he will seek a second term, the civil rights leader told his National Action Network staff in Washington, NBC News reported.
“I’m going to do it again,” Biden said last year as he posed for a photograph in the Roosevelt Room with Sharpton, according to an official from the National Action Network who recounted the MSNBC host’s description. “I’m going.”
Biden’s remarks come as top White House advisers are preparing to make final decisions on launching his re-election campaign, several sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News. Several considerations in the decision-making process include that no major Democratic challenger has emerged; that former President Donald Trump, who is running for the GOP nomination, has been indicted and is consuming the political spotlight; and that there’s a major clash coming with congressional Republicans over spending.
Despite lackluster approval ratings, Democratic power brokers have indicated that they are all in for Biden’s re-election bid even before he has officially declared his intention to seek it.
Biden’s remarks come as he broke with progressives on some hot-button issues ahead of the expected launch of his re-election campaign, including on crime, immigration policy and the environment.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
