White House's KJP corrects herself on Biden's intention to serve a full second term after dodging question

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KJP dodges question on whether Biden will serve all 8 years

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to correct herself after dodging questions about whether President Joe Biden plans to serve all eight years of his presidency if reelected.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a correction to her own statement shortly after refusing to say whether President Joe Biden planned to serve all eight years of his two terms if he is reelected in 2024.

Jean-Pierre initially dodged the question during a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday, saying that it was up to Biden to decide for himself. She later returned to the topic on Twitter after the briefing ended, saying Biden does in fact plan to serve a full two terms.

"Does the president plan to serve all eight years?" a reporter asked during the briefing.

"I'm just not going to get ahead of the president. That's something for him to decide. I'm just not going to get ahead of it, and there's a 2024 campaign and anything related to that, I would refer you to [the campaign]," Jean-Pierre responded.

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Jean-Pierre clarified her answer on Twitter less than an hour later: "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, [Biden] would serve all 8 years," Jean-Pierre wrote.

Biden's age, 80, had been a major source of speculation that he was planning to hand off the torch after serving a single term.

Jean-Pierre's mix-up came just hours after Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced they were running for reelection. The candidates had allowed speculation to swirl as they delayed the announcement far longer than past incumbent presidents.

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The pair face a clear runway to the Democratic nomination and a possible rematch against former President Donald Trump, who maintains a sizable lead in the Republican primary, according to polls, but has yet to announce a running mate.

Biden's campaign released a three-minute ad announcing his candidacy early Tuesday morning. The video begins with footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol protest and goes on to attack "MAGA extremists" across the country, who he says are "cutting Social Security," "dictating what health care decisions women can make" and "banning books."

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced their reelection campaign on Tuesday. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images / File)

"This is not a time to be complacent," Biden says in the video. "That's why I'm running for reelection. Because I know America. I know we are good and decent people."

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"And I know we are still a country that believes in honesty and respect and treating each other with dignity," he adds. "That we're a nation where we give hate no safe harbor. And we believe that everyone is equal and that everyone should be given a fair shot to succeed in this country."