Joe Biden denies reports that he's considering serving only one term as president because of his age

joe biden
joe biden

Associated Press/Sarah Blake Morgan

  • Former Vice President Joe Biden is considering running as a one-term president as way to assuage concerns about his age, according to a Wednesday Politico report.

  • "If Biden is elected, he's going to be 82 years old in four years and he won't be running for reelection," a top adviser to the campaign told Politico.

  • Biden has consistently made the case that he's running for president to prevent Trump from winning a second term. And he's arguing that he's the best-positioned Democrat in the race to beat the president.

  • Critics have argued Biden would be a "lame duck" president if he even suggested he'd skip out on a second term. Others have said the campaign should've officially announced his intentions months ago.

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Former Vice President Joe Biden is considering running as a one-term president as way to assuage concerns about his age, according to a Wednesday Politico report.

Four anonymous individuals close to Biden told Politico that the candidate wouldn't run for a second term in 2024, when he'd be 82 years old, if he's elected president in 2020. But the aides said Biden, now 77, won't publicly announce that he's considering skipping a second term.

"If Biden is elected, he's going to be 82 years old in four years and he won't be running for reelection," a top adviser to the campaign told Politico.

But another aide said Biden would run for re-election if he's not able to turn the reins over to his vice president or a strong, younger party leader.

Biden's communications director denied the report, saying the candidate and his campaign aren't discussing this option.

"Lots of chatter out there on this so just want to be crystal clear: this is not a conversation our campaign is having and not something VP Biden is thinking about," Kate Bedingfield tweeted.

UPDATE: Biden has also denied the report.

 

Biden has consistently made the case that he's running for president to prevent Trump from winning a second term. And he's arguing that he's the best-positioned Democrat in the race to beat the president.

"Could I die happily not having heard 'Hail to the Chief' play for me?" Biden said in September. "Yeah, I could. That's not why I'm running."

Biden's campaign emailed out polling last month showing him in the lead.

"This speaks for itself," the campaign said. "If Joe Biden wins the primary, he can beat Trump in a general election. Other candidates can't."

David Axelrod, one of former President Barack Obama's closest advisers in the White House, called Biden's consideration of a single-term presidency "self-evident" in a tweet on Wednesday. He added that it will make Biden's running mate selection "even more meaningful."

Reports emerged last spring that Biden was considering asking former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, 46, to join his presidential ticket before he entered the race.

The news of Biden's thinking sparked a wave of criticism online. Many critics argued Biden would be a "lame duck" president if he even suggested he'd skip out on a second term. Others said the campaign should've officially announced his intentions months ago.

"This will lead to a remarkably ineffective Presidency," tweeted Brian Arbour, a political science professor at John Jary College of Criminal Justice. "This should be disqualifying."

 

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