U.S. President Joe Biden and his team may announce his re-election campaign by video next week, according to a source familiar with the matter on Thursday.
An announcement on Tuesday by Biden, 80, would come four years to the day of his 2020 campaign launch. The source cautioned that the exact timing of an announcement may be fluid.
Biden aides have ramped up planning for the long-expected launch of the president’s bid for a second, four-year term in 2024. Last week, Biden said he would launch his campaign “relatively soon.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while the Democratic National Committee (DNC) declined to comment.
Biden has long said he intends to run again but the lack of a formal announcement had seeded doubt among supporters about whether one of the oldest world leaders would or should commit to another four-year term. He would be 86 at the end of a second term.
In recent weeks, Biden has laid out the likely themes of a re-election bid in political speeches, secured a doctor’s note that he is “fit for duty,” told Democrats to re-order the party’s primary calendar in a manner favoring his nomination and picked Chicago as the city where he would ostensibly formally become the nominee next year. Biden is yet to face a serious challenge for his party’s nomination.
He is set for a meeting at the end of next week with top volunteer fundraisers from his last campaign, who will be expected to get the latest effort off to a strong financial start.
Donors would be key to what might be the most expensive U.S. presidential election to date. They would also show that Biden’s strongest supporters have overcome their own doubts about his age and prospects in another grueling race.
Biden has used recent political events to attack Republicans for trying to undo his legislative victories, but he has largely avoided directly speaking about the legal woes facing his likely opponent Donald Trump, the former president and top Republican candidate.
