President Joe Biden is set to deliver his second State of the Union address on Tuesday, even as recent polls show American feeling lukewarm about the prospect of him seeking four more years in the White House.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed just 42 per cent of respondents approve of his performance, with a majority of Americans – 53 per cent – saying they either “strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove of how Mr Biden has conducted himself in office.
Another recent poll from the Associated Press showed 41 per cent of Americans approve of Mr Biden’s work as president, just two percentage points lower than the previous month’s result. More than three quarters of Democrats polled by the AP, 77 per cent, said they approve of how Mr Biden is handling his work, while nearly all Republican respondents — 91 per cent — said they disapprove.
And with just 37 per cent of Democrats telling the AP that they want Mr Biden to run once more, it’s worth asking if he will indeed be a candidate in the next presidential election.
The answer to that question, however, is almost certainly yes.
At an event last week to mark the end of his tenure as White House chief of staff, veteran Biden aide and confidante Ron Klain all but confirmed that Mr Biden would stand for reelection next year.
A visibly emotional Mr Klain called Mr Biden a “wise, passionate, determined and fearless president” who is filled with “determination to save our democracy and the soul of this nation”.
“I look forward to being on your side when you run for president in 2024,” he added.
Other prominent Democrats have signaled their support for Mr Biden in the fast-approaching 2024 campaign season. But the president has been relatively noncommittal when he’s been asked about what would be his fourth – and last – campaign for the presidency.
The oldest man to ever be sworn in as America’s chief executive, Mr Biden has repeatedly demurred when pressed on his intentions for the 2024 campaign cycle.
During an interview with CBS News 60 Minutes last year, Mr Biden said it was his “intention” to stand for election next year. But he said he had not yet made a “firm decision” on mounting another bid for the presidency.
“Is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” he said.
During that September interview, he told correspondent Scott Pelley that he was holding off on an announcement because he was a “great respecter of fate,” and said he would continue to do his job and make a decision after the November midterms.
Three months after those midterm elections, Mr Biden appeared to use his State of the Union remarks as a jumping-off point for an expected campaign announcement, which could come as early as later this month.
Throughout the hour and 12 minute address to Congress on Tuesday, he referred back to the themes of his 2020 campaign.
He told lawmakers his “vision for country” has always been to “restore the soul of America” to “rebuild the backbone ... of the middle class,” and to “unite the country”.
And in what looked to be a preview of his 2024 reelection theme, Mr Biden exhorted both sides of the aisle to take up the unfinished parts of his agenda.
Over and over again, he laid out his goals for the coming two years and the agenda he hopes Congress will enact into law.
And after each section, he offered what could be a line that will figure prominently in his upcoming campaign, telling Congress — and viewers at home — that it is “time to finish the job”.
