Washington, Nov. 9 (EFE).- Joe Biden said Wednesday that he plans to seek a second term as president of the United States and will probably make a final decision early in 2023.
“Our intention is to run again, that’s been our intention,” he said during a press conference at the White House following Tuesday’s mid-term elections, which saw Biden’s Democrats fare less badly than feared.
“This is ultimately a family decision,” he added in a nod to first lady Jill Biden, who was sitting nearby.
The president, who turns 80 next month, said that he would make his decision without regard to whether Republican predecessor Donald Trump goes forward with a bid to recapture the presidency in 2024.
When a reporter suggested that world leaders may be apprehensive about the prospect of a second Trump administration, Biden said that he was determined “to demonstrate that he will not take power if he does run, making sure he – under legitimate efforts of our Constitution – does not become the next president again.”
Trump, 76, has been hinting that he plans to run in 2024 and said Monday that he will make a special announcement on Nov. 15.
Control of the US Congress continued to hang in the balance on Wednesday after Republicans fell short of their own expectations in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The opposition party typically performs well in the midterms and Republicans were confident of making big gains given voter dissatisfaction with Biden, inflation of 8.2 percent and concerns about the direction of the country.
But no “red wave” materialized, as a significant number of Democratic incumbents held off challenges by Republicans.
The House tally currently stands at 203-175 in favor of the Republicans, while the GOP has a narrow 49-48 lead in the Senate count as both in-person and mail ballots continue to be processed.
Democrats held a slim 220-210 majority in the House going into Tuesday’s voting, while they control the evenly divided Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’s constitutional role as presiding officer of the upper chamber.
“It was a good day, I think, for democracy,” Biden said, reflecting on Tuesday’s results.
“On this election season the American people made it clear: They don’t want every day moving forward to be a constant political battle. There’s too much of that going on, and there’s too much we have to do,” he said.
The president said that on his return from the G-20 summit in Indonesia, he plans to convene a meeting of Republican and Democratic congressional leaders at the White House to discuss an agenda for 2023.
“I’m open to any good ideas. I want to be very clear: I’m not going to support any Republican proposal that’s going to make inflation worse,” Biden said.
He also pledged to “veto any attempt to pass as national ban on abortion” and to oppose fundamental changes to Social Security and Medicare.
“But I’m ready to compromise with Republicans where it makes sense on many other issues, and I’ll always put the needs of the American people first,” Biden said. EFE /dr
