Biden campaign ‘perplexed’ by hubbub after president cast doubt about run against Trump

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — President Joe Biden‘s 2024 campaign pushed back on questions Wednesday over the president’s recent comment that he may not be running for reelection if former President Donald Trump weren’t also running.

At a press conference ahead of the Republican National Committee’s fourth primary debate in Alabama, Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks and campaign surrogate former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones brushed off the president’s Tuesday comment.

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Jones told reporters Wednesday he and the campaign are “perplexed as to why that’s really a news story.”

“It’s nothing new,” Fulks agreed, adding that Biden similarly emphasized the threat Trump presented when he took him on in 2020.

Biden’s comment came during a campaign reception in Boston, Massachusetts, Tuesday when he told donors, “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” quickly making headlines.

Trump reacted to the comment Tuesday evening during a Fox News town hall event in Iowa, quipping, “I think somebody gave him a talking point. They thought that would sound good.”

According to Jones, “That has been something that every candidate takes into account — who they’re going to be running against.” He reiterated that Biden did this in 2020, saying, “This is the same calculation.”

The former senator added Biden was “not saying that that’s the only reason” he is running. “That’s just not a news story.”

When asked whether there’s an argument that the Democratic Party should be nominating a different candidate in 2024, given polling that shows a generic Democrat performing better than Biden, Fulks said the president is “the best person to lead America.”

“And so Joe Biden is going to continue to run for president,” he added.

The campaign also faced a question on the comment’s potential to undermine Democratic support, causing voters to look at other candidates. “No, I don’t think so,” Fulks said. He then noted the media’s focus on the remark, saying, “even in this room right now, we’ve had several conversations about the polling, about the president’s age, and not one thing about Trump saying that he’ll be a dictator.”

“I don’t think any American person cares how old Joe Biden is when it comes to if they can get reproductive freedom in their state. I don’t think they care when it comes to is gas cheap or if inflation is coming down,” he claimed. “I think that that’s what American people are focused on.”

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Fulks hit the media once more, criticizing the focus on these things and not on Trump’s rhetoric, which he said doesn’t correlate with the concerns of voters. “If we’re going to have these conversations, they also need to be married to [the] reality of what’s happening with voters,” he said.

Biden faces two less prominent Democratic primary challengers, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and author Marianne Williamson, who previously ran in 2020. Phillips called Biden’s recent comment “downright delusional,” noting the president’s low approval numbers and his several losses to Trump in different polls.