White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday in response to Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) announcing that he will not support President Biden should he run for reelection that there is a lot of ground to cover between now and then.
“The president intends to run in 2024 — we are a ways away from 2024. We are going to continue to focus on doing the business of the American people, by delivering for families, by lowering costs for families, as we have seen,” Jean-Pierre said.
She mentioned two legislative wins for Biden this week — an emerging deal in the Senate on a sweeping tax reform and climate bill and the $280 billion semiconductor chips and science bill heading to his desk.
“Those are the things that we’re going to continue to focus on and much more,” she said. “And so, right now, 2024 is so far away.”
Phillips argued on Thursday that the country would be “well-served by a new generation” of Democrats. He also said that he thought “most of my colleagues” would agree with his opinion.
The White House has insisted that the president intends to run for reelection, and Biden spoke about 2024 in an interview earlier this month, saying he wouldn’t be disappointed if there was a rematch between him and former President Trump.
Biden will be 81 years old in 2024 and hasn’t been able to escape questions about his age in terms of running again. A recent poll showed that 64 percent of Democrats would prefer another candidate from the party to run in the next election, although the president has insisted Democrats want him to run, firing back at doubters.