A recent interview with the New York Times editorial board revealed that Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney “officially” announced that President Joe Biden would not be running for president again, but later backtracked her statement. The White House has also suggested that Biden will indeed run for reelection.
While discussing Biden’s reelection bid with the editorial board Carolyn Maloney, the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said, “Off the record, he’s not running again.” When Jyoti Thottam, Times editorials editor went on, Maloney replied, “On the record? No, he should not run again.”
This sentiment is not voiced publicly by many Democrats, although some have begun talking about the possibility that Joe Biden might not run again. Particularly, since his approval rating is low. Last month, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota declared that he would not endorse the president in 2024. When asked if he would support the reelection of Joe Biden in 2024, Phillips replied, “No.”
The recent New York Times interview was not the first time Maloney questioned whether Joe Biden would run for re-election and even implied that he should not run. During a debate earlier this month, Carolyn Maloney said that she didn’t think Biden would run again in 2024. “I don’t believe he’s running for reelection,” she stated back then. Later, Maloney backtracked on her statement, reported Business Insider.
A CNN interview – not long after the debate – showed Maloney apologizing to the president for her remarks, saying she would like him to seek reelection. Still, she reasserted that she doesn’t think he will. “I will absolutely support President Biden, if he decides to run for re-election,” Maloney tweeted. “Biden’s leadership securing historic investments for healthcare, climate & economic justice prove once again why he is the strong and effective leader we need right now,” she added.
Now, all this happens while Maloney herself is running for re-election in New York’s 12th District. In the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District on Aug. 23, Maloney will face Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee, and Suraj Patel, a lawyer who lost narrowly to Maloney in 2020 in the Democratic primary.
The race for Maloney’s House seat in 2022 has become one of the most brutal and competitive recently. Her district was mixed with that of Nadler, another longtime Democrat. Nadler has been serving the 10th Congressional District in the city. Both Maloney and Nadler supported the idea of Biden’s campaign in 2024 in another debate earlier this week. However, Nadler declined to address the question about Biden’s future.
For Patel, he blasted his primary opponents for their earlier statements regarding Biden. “Unlike @JerryNadler & @CarolynBMaloney, I’m literally the only candidate in this race, in a Democratic primary who didn’t snub Biden or throw @POTUS under the bus multiple times this campaign,” he tweeted. “It may not matter to the elite, but damn it energizes voters, especially of color.”
This week Bloomberg reported that Biden was eyeing a re-election bid after the midterm elections, which contradicts the Democrat Rep’s thoughts on Biden’s plans. The White House has declared on several occasions that Biden intends to seek a second term.