Joe Biden announced Thursday that he is considering running for the 2024 US presidential election, having so far avoided giving such a straightforward answer, promising that Vice President Kamala Harris would again be his running mate in this event.
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“The answer is yes, I plan to run for re-election. This is what I expect, ”said the 78-year-old US president at his first White House press conference.
He qualified his response by affirming to respect “fate”: “I don’t know where you come from (…), but I have great respect for fate. I have never been able to plan with certainty four and a half, three and a half years in advance. “
Does he think of representing himself against Donald Trump?
” Oh really. I don’t even think about it, I have no idea. I have no idea who will represent the Republican Party, (…) and you? », He launched.
To a reporter who asked him if he would choose Kamala Harris, the first female vice president in US history, as his running mate again, Joe Biden replied, “I absolutely expect this to be the case. She does a very good job. She is a very good partner. “
The 56-year-old former senator and former prosecutor Kamala Harris is herself among the candidates already approached for the presidential election of November 2024. She had run in 2019 for the Democratic primary, but had thrown in the towel before the first votes in early 2020.
“Ignoble”
Joe Biden on the other hand had very harsh words about attempts to limit access to polling stations in some states where Republicans control power, such as Georgia.
“What worries me is how much this whole initiative goes against American values. It is despicable ”, judged the tenant of the White House.
“Decide in some states that you can’t bring water to people who are waiting to vote? Decide you’re going to stop voting at 5:00 p.m. when working people barely quit their jobs? ”, Enumerated Mr. Biden.
For their part, the Democrats have already adopted in the House of Representatives a bill that would strengthen the right to vote, especially among minorities.
The text will be put to a vote in the Senate, promised its Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. But its majority is far too narrow for it to be adopted as it is.
Joe Biden said Thursday that he would try “to see how to pass” this text in Congress.
“Republican voters I know find this contemptible,” he said of Republican initiatives. “It’s huge, what they are trying to do.”
To justify their proposals, some Republican officials cite the presidential election of November 3 as an example and the alleged frauds, but never demonstrated, which they claim tainted the ballot. Donald Trump has never explicitly conceded his defeat.