US FIRST LADY Jill Biden has given one of the clearest indications yet that Joe Biden will run for a second term, telling The Associated Press that there is “pretty much” nothing left to do but work out the time and place for the announcement.
Although Biden has long said that it is his intention to seek re-election, he has yet to make it official, and he has struggled to dispel questions about whether he is too old to continue serving as president.
Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term.
“How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” the first lady said in Nairobi, the second and final stop of her five-day trip to Africa.
She added: “He says he’s not done. He’s not finished what he’s started. And that’s what’s important.”
Granddaughter Naomi Biden, who is on the trip, cheered the first lady’s comments after the exclusive interview.
“Preach nana,” she said on Twitter.
The president himself was asked about his wife’s comments just hours later in an interview with ABC News, and laughed when told of her remarks, adding: “God love her. Look, I meant what I said, I’ve got other things to finish before I get into a full-blown campaign.”
Biden aides have said an announcement is likely to come in April, after the first fundraising quarter ends, which is around the time that President Barack Obama officially launched his re-election campaign.
The first lady has long been described as a key figure in Biden’s orbit as he plans his future.
“Because I’m his wife,” she laughed.
Mrs Biden brushed off the question about whether she has the deciding vote on whether the president runs for re-election.
“Of course he’ll listen to me, because we’re a married couple,” she said.
But, she added later, “he makes up his own mind, believe me”.
The wide-ranging interview took place on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Mrs Biden recalled her trip into the country last May to meet the besieged country’s first lady Olena Zelenska.
They visited a school that was being used to help migrants who fled the fighting.
Some of the families, Mrs Biden said, had hid underground for weeks before making their escape.
“We thought then, how long can this go on? And here we are, a year later,” she said.
“And look at what the Ukrainian people have done. I mean, they are so strong and resilient, and they are fighting for their country.”
“We’re all hoping that this war is over soon, because we see, every day, the damage, the violence, the horror on our televisions,” the first lady added.
Mrs Biden is the only first lady to continue her career in addition to her ceremonial duties, teaching writing and English to community college students.
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