Biden Says First Lady Doesn’t Want Him to ‘Walk Away’ From Job

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden said first lady Jill Biden supports him running for re-election in 2024, when he’ll turn 82 years old.

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“My wife thinks that we’re doing something very important, and I shouldn’t walk away from it,” the president said in an interview that will air Friday on MSNBC.

The first lady is viewed as having significant say over whether Biden, who is already the oldest man to hold the presidency, will seek another four years in the White House. She told NBC News in an interview published earlier Friday that she would support a 2024 run.

“He understands government better than anybody else,” Jill Biden said.

Biden’s own political future is a subplot of the November midterm elections, in which Democrats are fighting to keep control of Congress. While polls by CNN and the New York Times over the summer found a majority of Democrats would prefer a presidential candidate other than Biden in 2024, a Marquette University Law School poll in September found a slight majority of Democrats -- 52% -- supporting a re-election campaign.

Earlier: Biden Says He’ll Wait Until After Midterms to Decide 2024 Run

The president reiterated he intends to run again, but that he would wait until after the midterms to make a final decision. He has repeatedly said he believes he could beat former President Donald Trump in a re-match.

“I have not made that formal decision, but it’s my intention, my intention to run again, and we have time to make that decision,” Biden told MSNBC.

The Marquette University Law School poll found that almost three-quarters of US adults don’t want Biden to run for re-election, and that seven in 10 also don’t want to see Trump make another run.

The former president has repeatedly hinted that he’ll try again to win the office he lost to Biden.

‘Veto Anything’

Biden and his fellow Democrats have campaigned heavily against the Supreme Court’s decision to end nationwide abortion rights, seeking to energize their supporters and stave off losses in the midterms.

Asked how he would react if Republicans win majorities in Congress and pass nationwide limits on abortion, Biden said, “veto anything they do.”

The president this week promised to codify abortion protections into federal law with his first bill in the new Congress. But its passage would depend on the unlikely scenario of Democrats keeping control of the House and making gains in the Senate.

--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.

(Updates with comments about abortion rights, in 10th paragraph)

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