AP interview: Biden ready for re-election, says 1st lady

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The first lady of the United States has given one of the clearest indications yet that President Joe Biden will seek re-election, saying in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press that he had “virtually” done it. It remains to decide on the time and place of the announcement.

Although Biden has long said he intends to run for a second term, he has yet to officially do so and is struggling to dispel doubts that he is too old to continue in office. its functions. Biden would be 86 after a second term.

“He says it’s not over,” Jill Biden said in Nairobi, the second and final leg of her five-day Africa tour. “He didn’t finish what he started. That’s what matters.”

And he said, “How many times does he have to say that for you to believe him?”

Granddaughter Naomi Biden, who also made the trip, welcomed the first lady’s remarks after the interview.

“Preach, girl,” he wrote on Twitter.

Biden aides said the announcement would likely come in April, at the end of the first quarter of fundraising, around the same time President Barack Obama launched his re-election campaign.

The first lady would be a crucial figure in Biden’s orbit as he plans for his future.

“Because I’m his wife,” he said between laughs.

But he ruled out having the deciding vote in terms of re-election.

“Of course he will listen to me because we are a couple,” he said. But he later added: “Decisions are made by him, believe me.”

The in-depth interview was conducted on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Jill Biden recalled her trip to Ukraine last May to meet Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska.

They visited a school that was used to help immigrants fleeing the fighting. Some of the families, Jill Biden said, had been hiding underground for weeks before escaping.

“So we thought: how long can this last? And here we are, a year later,” he said. “And look what the Ukrainian people have done. In other words, they are very strong and resilient, and they are fighting for their country.”

“We all hope that this war will end soon, because we see the damage, the violence and the horror on our televisions every day,” added the first lady. “And we just can’t believe it.”