Biden says 2024 reelection run depends on his health

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President Biden on Wednesday added a caveat to his contention that he is planning to run for reelection in 2024, saying that he would do so if he remains in good health.

Biden made the assertion in response to a question from ABC News anchor David Muir, who asked the president if he intended to seek reelection, especially in light of the promise he made in 2020 that he would serve eight years if elected.

"Yes, but look, I'm a great respecter of fate," Biden answered. "Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I'm in the health I'm in now—if I'm in good health—then, in fact, I would run again."

Biden's response to Muir comes amid speculation whether the 79-year-old president will choose to run again, especially given his age and plummeting poll ratings.

President Joe Biden removes his face mask as he arrives to speak about COVID-19 vaccinations from the East Room of the White House on March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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Last week, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre assured the White House press corps that Biden intends to run for reelection in 2024 with Vice President Kamala Harris, despite a report from The Wall Street Journal in which Harris said she and Biden have not discussed whether he plans to run for a second term.

President Joe Biden, ‪Vice President Kamala Harris‬ and Iron Workers Local 86 Political Director Heather Kurtenbach arrive on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 15, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

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"Well, I mean, I can't speak to a conversation that the vice president and the president have," Jean-Pierre said at the time. "I could only say what and reiterate what Jen [Psaki] has said, and what the president has said himself, that he is planning to run for reelection in 2024. I don't have any more to add."

Muir also asked whether Biden would run again if Trump were to oppose him in 2024.

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"You're trying to tempt me now?" Biden replied. "Sure. Why would I not run against Donald Trump if he were the nominee? That would increase the prospect of running."

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images  |   Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Regarding whether his administration's response to the surge in omicron cases has been adequate in light of the lack of rapid at-home test kits, Biden stopped short of saying his administration had failed, but also expressed regret that he had not ordered more kits sooner.

"Three days before Christmas, if you look out across the country, you see it everywhere, these long lines, people waiting for hours outside in the cold, just to get tested, to be reassured before they spend time with their family," Muir said. "If you go to the pharmacy, we hear this over and over again, empty shelves, no test kits. Is that a failure?"

"I don't think it's a failure," Biden answered. "I think it's — you could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, a month ago."

"I wish I had thought about ordering a half a billion...two months ago," he added.