During his time in office, President Joe Biden has signaled an openness to run for another four years.
However, he has caveated that decision by noting he is a “great respecter of fate.”
And as the question swirls about whether or not he will decide to run in 2024, NBC News notes there is another person who will carry a great deal of influence over that decision: First Lady Jill Biden.
On Friday, the network published a story titled, “The decider: Jill Biden’s unparalleled influence and impact on the president.”
“Whenever his aides are pressed about President Joe Biden’s political future, they’ll often point to one person as the true decider: his wife of 45 years, Jill Biden,” it read.
Whenever his aides are pressed about President Biden’s political future, they’ll often point to one person as the true decider: Jill Biden. https://t.co/8m4WS6aH6O
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 21, 2022
The article went on, “She is, after all, her husband’s foremost defender. She guards his interests and dignity, and expects his staff to do no less. Her input is essential in some of the weightiest political and personnel decisions the 46th president confronts.”
Yeah, she’s done a really fine job of guarding his dignity.
“Outside of the president himself, Jill Biden is the single most important voice in a decision that will reverberate through the Democratic Party, the Biden family and the country for years to come: whether her husband seeks a second term in 2024,” it added.
Then there was this gem, “If Jill doesn’t want him to run again, Joe won’t, the president’s longtime associates say.”
And based on the article, it seems as though the first lady is on board with the idea of another run.
“He understands government better than anybody else,” she told NBC News as part of an argument for a 2024 presidential bid.
The outlet added, “She said she’s not deterred by another vitriolic campaign or the prospect of Republican-led investigations into her family should the GOP win control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. And she was adamant that her son Hunter Biden, who is under federal investigation and is a potential target of congressional probes, has broken no laws.”
One senior adviser to Jill Biden told NBC that another presidential bid is “something both Dr. Biden and the family fully support.”
Well, if Jill Biden was really trying to defend her husband’s dignity, she would oppose another presidential run.
Already at 79 years old, Joe Biden is facing questions about his age and mental acuity.
He frequently appears lost on stage or spouts gibberish that seems like it is in a different language. Or he looks frail and falls off a bike. Or he’ll ask where someone who tragically died in a car accident a few weeks prior is.
Meanwhile, his national approval rating is mired in the low 40s, and underwater in 45 states.
There is nothing protecting his dignity about him being in the White House now. And there certainly is nothing that would protect his dignity about subjecting him to another four years of looking like a doddering, incoherent, incompetent, and confused president.