Joe Biden Privately Told Rev. Al Sharpton He Will Run for President Again in 2024: Report

Virginia Chamlee
·2 min read
Joe Biden, Al Sharpton
Joe Biden, Al Sharpton

Chip Somodevilla/Getty; Roy Rochlin/Getty Joe Biden (left), Al Sharpton

Amid reports that he may not seek a second term, President Joe Biden has reportedly told at least one person he still plans to run again: Rev. Al Sharpton, who told his staff that the president had confirmed his intent to stick around.

"I'm going to do it again," Biden, 79, reportedly told Sharpton as the two posed for a photograph, according to NBC News, which cited one of Sharpton's staffers. "I'm going."

According to NBC News, Sharpton recounted the exchange on a phone call with staffers following the conversation with the president.

RELATED: Who Will Run for President in 2024? Rumored Republican and Democratic Candidates

The report comes as others have suggested Biden — who will be nearing 82 years old at the time of the 2024 election — won't run for a second term.

Asked in an August debate whether Biden should seek reelection, New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney shrugged aside the question by responding, "I don't believe he's running for reelection."

Maloney later clarified those comments, but didn't retract her earlier remarks, saying, "I think he's done an incredible job and is giving us a record to run on in the 2022 election, let's get to the 2022 election before we get to '24."

As of now, the White House maintains that Biden plans to run again.

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A recent poll found that the vast majority of Americans, across all political parties and age groups, do favor a maximum age limit for elected officials.

The results of the opinion poll by CBS News/YouGov found that 73% of people surveyed supported the idea and, when given a list of options to choose from, some 40% said 70 years old should be the maximum age for running for office.

Former President Jimmy Carter, the oldest living president at 97, said in 2019 that he too supported an age limit for those in the White House, saying: "If I were just 80 years old, if I was 15 years younger, I don't believe I could undertake the duties I experienced when I was president."

RELATED: Rep. Carolyn Maloney Says She Doesn't Think Biden's Running Again When Asked Whether He Should Seek Reelection

Biden was 78 at his inaugural ceremony, making him the oldest person to be sworn in as commander-in-chief in U.S. history.

Donald Trump — who was previously the oldest-ever president to take office at age 70 — is himself openly flirting with another run for office. Trump, who often uses his opponents' ages as a weapon, will be 78 during the 2024 election cycle.

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