President Joe Biden has reportedly told former President Barack Obama that he plans to run for reelection.
The president’s desire to seek a second term is fueled by the belief that he is the only Democratic candidate who could beat former President Donald Trump, sources told the Hill. Biden has said publicly he plans to run again, but the report signals he’s serious by directly telling one of the highest-profile members of the Democratic Party of his intentions.
“[Biden] wants to run, and he’s clearly letting everyone know,” one of the sources said. “I believe he thinks he’s the only one who can beat Trump. I don’t think he thinks there’s anyone in the Democratic Party who can beat Trump, and that’s the biggest factor.”
It’s not clear when Biden spoke to Obama about the decision to run, though the former president made an appearance at the White House earlier this month to commemorate 12 years of Obamacare.
Biden indicated last month during an overseas trip to Brussels that he would welcome a rematch against Trump despite not committing to running.
“We’re a long way off in elections — a long way off,” Biden said. “My focus of any election is on making sure that we retain the House and the United States Senate so that I have the room to continue to do the things that I’ve been able to do in terms of grow the economy and deal in a rational way with American foreign policy and lead the world.”
Polls suggest flagging support for the president amid rising inflation and conflict in Ukraine. Biden’s approval ratings stand at an average of 41.8% as of Monday, narrowly higher than that of Trump’s at the same point in his presidency, according to a compilation of polls by FiveThirtyEight.
* story by The Washington Examiner
