'My plan is to run for re-election' -Biden

At 78, he is the oldest person ever to serve as U.S. President, but on Thursday Joe Biden – in his first official press conference since taking office – said he expects to run for re-election in 2024.

[REPORTER, OFF CAMERA] “Have you decided whether you are going to run for re-election in 2024? You haven’t set up a re-election campaign yet as your predecessor had by this time.”

[U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN]: (laughs) “My predecessor needed to. (laughs) My predecessor – Oh, God, I miss him. No, the answer is yes – my plan is to run for re-election, that’s my expectation.”

And in contrast to press conferences held by his “predecessor”, Donald Trump, Biden’s was a calm affair, despite fielding pointed questions on topics ranging from the migrant surge at the southwest border to the recent debate over the Senate’s use of the filibuster, a longstanding rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the 100-seat chamber.

Despite agreeing with former President Barack Obama’s description of the filibuster as a (quote) “relic of the Jim Crow era”, Biden stopped short of saying it should be done away with it – yet.

“It’s been abused in the time since it’s come into being, in an extreme way in the last 20 years. Let’s deal with the abuse first.”

Biden said he favored reforming the filibuster, but was ready to go further if Republicans continued to thwart his agenda.

“If we have to, if there’s complete lockdown and chaos as a consequence of the filibuster, then we’ll have to go beyond what I’m talking about.”

Democrats currently do not have the votes to fully abolish the filibuster, as at least two moderate Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, oppose doing away with it.

Biden was also asked if he was worried Democrats would lose control of Congress due to Republican efforts to restrict voting rights – which mostly effect minority and young voters, who tend to vote Democratic.

“What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick. It’s sick. The Republican voters I know find this despicable.”

As for 2024, Biden was asked if he thought Trump would again be his opponent.

“I have no idea. I have no idea if there will be a Republican party, do you?”

He did make one thing was clear: If on the ticket, Biden said he expected Vice President Kamala Harris to again be his running mate, calling her a “great partner.”