Schumer says he will back Biden if he runs in 2024

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he will support President Biden for reelection in 2024 if the 79-year-old runs for a second term, which some Democrats and analysts say is becoming more of an open question.  

Schumer said Biden has his full support but stopped short of declaring his confidence that Biden will wage a reelection bid.  

“I have said if he runs, I’ll support him,” Schumer told reporters when asked whether Biden should run for a second term.  

Biden’s viability as a candidate in 2024 has come under growing scrutiny as his job approval rating remains mired at around 40 percent. 

A New York Times-Siena College poll released earlier this month found that voters nationwide gave him a paltry 33 percent job approval rating and that 64 percent of Democrats said they would prefer to have another nominee in the next election cycle.  

The same poll found that 94 percent of Democrats under the age of 30 said they wanted to have a different presidential nominee in 2024.  

No Senate Democrats, however, have called on Biden not to run for another four years in office.  

Biden has said he plans to run again if he remains in good health.  

The president is recovering this week after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The White House doctor said Monday that Biden’s symptoms “have now almost completely resolved.” 

A new University of New Hampshire Survey Center Granite State Poll found that 17 percent of likely 2024 Democratic primary voters in the state would support Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic nomination, while 16 percent said they would back Biden. 

New Hampshire traditionally hosts the first primary of the presidential election cycle following the Iowa caucuses.