The first thing on most people’s minds after Joe Biden officially announced his intent to run for president again was, “Seriously? He’s 80 years old and clearly experiencing cognitive decline. What’s he thinking?” Naturally, the obvious concerns about his advanced age and diminished mental acuity has led to speculation that Biden’s seeking reelection in order to hand off the presidency to Kamala Harris, who would otherwise be unelectable.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was given the opportunity to dispute this theory during Tuesday’s White House press briefing… and didn’t.
“Does the president plan to serve all eight years?” a reporter asked.
“I’m not — I’m just not going to get ahead of the president,” she replied. “That’s something for him to decide. I’m just not going to get ahead of it. And we’re — there’s a 2024 campaign. Anything related to that, I would refer you to that.”
"Does the president plan to serve all eight years?"
Karine Jean-Pierre: "That's something for him to decide" pic.twitter.com/09vZrFNa8p
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 25, 2023
Well, that’s interesting. Could Karine Jean-Pierre be privy to information that has not been disclosed to the public? Such a question would normally be treated as ridiculous and answered with, “Of course Joe Biden intends to serve all four years of a second term if elected.”
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Biden, who is currently 80 years old, would be 82 on Inauguration Day and would turn 86 by the end of a potential second term. Given the widespread belief that Biden is too old and mentally unfit to run for president again, it’s reasonable to assume that the White House has instructed all spokespersons to assert Biden’s commitment to serving out two full terms. By deflecting on the question, Jean-Pierre suggested that there is uncertainty in Biden’s inner circle about his ability to serve a full second term if he were elected. This provides ammunition to those who claim that Biden’s election is a ploy for Kamala Harris to take over the presidency.
Of course, Karine Jean-Pierre later released a statement to “correct” her earlier remarks. “As you know, we take following the law seriously. So I wanted to be sure that I didn’t go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law,” she said in a tweet. “But I can confirm that if re-elected, [Joe Biden] would serve all 8 years.”
As you know, we take following the law seriously. So I wanted to be sure that I didn't go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law. But I can confirm that if re-elected, @POTUS would serve all 8 years. https://t.co/n9OfMV4D1Y
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) April 25, 2023
Oh, she can confirm that? Really? Something tells me that her statement will not convince the majority of Americans—who doubt Biden’s ability to effectively serve as president—that he’d actually serve out a full second term if elected. It is likely that this issue will continue to be a point of contention among voters throughout the 2024 election.
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