Biden tells Pelley he hasn't decided if he is running for re-election but "it's my intention"

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Joe Biden broke his long silence and sat down for a televised interview with CBS’s Scott Pelley for 60 Minutes on Sunday night. The interview kicked off the season premiere of the show’s 55th season. It was the first time in over 200 days that Biden sat down with an American television journalist for an interview.

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An interesting tidbit from the interview happened when Scott Pelley asked Joe Biden if he has decided to run for re-election. Biden said that decision has not been made. He said it is his intention to run but that was as far as he would go.

“Sir, are you committed to running again, or are there certain conditions that have to be right?” Pelley asked.

“Look, if I were to say to you, I’m running again, all of a sudden, a whole range of things come into play that I have– requirements I have to change and move and do,” Mr. Biden said. “In terms of election laws. and it’s much too early to make that kind of decision. I’m a great respecter of fate. And so, what I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m gonna do that job. And within the timeframe that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.”

“You say that it’s much too early to make that decision,” Pelley said. “I take it the decision has not been made in your own head?”

“Look, my intention as I said to begin with is that I would run again,” the president said. “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”

He wants to say he’s running again but can’t because then all the FEC laws and regulations have to be followed. In the meantime he has other people being coy on his behalf. In June, Kamala Harris said that of course, Biden is running and she’ll be his “ticket mate.” Also in June, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, ‘He’s running for reelection.’

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Biden will be 82 years old in 2024. Is he too old for the job? Perish the thought! He’s fit as a fiddle and ready to go. Just watch him.

President Biden is the oldest commander-in-chief in the history of the country. With that in mind, Pelley asked him about his fitness for the job.

“Watch me. And honest to God, that’s all I think. Watch me,” Mr. Biden said. “If you think I don’t have the energy level or the mental acuity, then, you know, that’s one thing. It’s another thing, you just watch and, you know, keep my schedule. Do what I’m doing. I think that, you know, I don’t– when I sit down with our NATO allies and keep them together, I don’t have them saying, ‘Wait a minute, how– how old are you?'”

“I respect the fact that people would say, you know, ‘You’re old,'” the president continued, “But I think it relates to how much energy you have and whether or not the job you’re doing is one consistent with what any person of any age would be able to do.”

“How would you say your mental focus is?” Pelley asked.

“Oh, it’s focused. I’d say it’s– I think it’s– I– I haven’t– look, I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, my own head, the number of years,” Mr. Biden said. “I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than fly. I mean, it’s just not– I haven’t observed anything in terms of– there’s not things I don’t do now that I did before, whether it’s physical, or mental, or anything else.”

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Whether or not he chooses to embrace his age or ignore it, he’s old. He’s too old for the job. Keep my schedule, he says? Biden has spent 40% of his time in office on vacation. He’s hardly burning the midnight oil at the White House. Does anyone believe that it was Joe Biden who kept our NATO allies together on supporting Ukraine? Joe Biden dragged his feet and waited until the last minute to send support. If anyone was rounding up support in the NATO alliance it was Macron in France. Biden was too busy explaining if it was just a little invasion into Ukraine, it wouldn’t be worthy of a response. Good heavens.

His staff cocoons him and keeps journalists at arm’s length. It was on February 10 that Biden last did one of these television interviews and that was with NBC’s Lester Holt. It was four months before that one that he did a television interview. He’s not exactly the most transparent president, though he pledged to be when he was elected. We know why. He has little to tout as successes. There is little for voters to get excited about to go to the polls and support Democrats, other than out of party loyalty.

Is Joe Biden running for re-election? Of course, he is. He’ll make a formal announcement after the mid-term elections in November. He has to clear the field and discourage any other ambitious Democrat politicians (looking at you, Gavin Newsom) from jumping in and challenging him. Biden’s ego will not allow him to bow out, unless something comes up like a medical issue that prevents him from running again.

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Last week, Jill Biden said that the two of them have not discussed the subject. Right. She’s a driving force in his political life, bordering on elder abuse at this point.

While Biden acknowledged presidential campaigns are “taxing,” she indicated she’s happy with her husband’s time as president, saying he’s “kept true” to his campaign promises and that he “just needs to keep going.”

Joe Biden needs to retire and enjoy the beach house with the grandkids. He most certainly does not need to “keep going.” Not in the political sense, that’s for sure.

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David Strom 3:30 PM | December 04, 2024
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