Jill Biden and the rest of the family ‘fully support’ Joe Biden seeking a second term as president – as the wait continues for him to formally announce his re-election bid.
With Donald Trump already in the race and other Republicans making rumblings, Biden has the luxury of the incumbency and, after Democrats avoided a red wave in the midterm election, a fresh vote of confidence from his own party about his ability to lead.
He has said he intends to run again and noted that only his family or a surprising development – such a health crisis – would dissuade him from running.
On the family front, Jill Biden, who serves as the first and last voice her husband hears on a given day, is on board. She is described as the most influential adviser in his orbit.
‘As the President has said, he intends to run for reelection and that is something both Dr. Biden and the family fully support. She’s been ready from the beginning and fully supportive,’ a Biden senior adviser told DailyMail.com.
Jill Biden and rest of the family ‘fully support’ Joe Biden seeking a second term – above the first lady watches the president speak at the November National Christmas tree lighting
Jill Biden is described as being the most influential voice in her husband’s orbit – above the first couple at a White House reception in early December
Biden, 71, has not always been keen on being first lady.
She was not on board in 2004 when her husband was mulling a bid. When he met with advisers at their Wilmington home to discuss the matter, she walked through the meeting with the word ‘No’ written on her stomach.
But she has come to terms with the idea of four more years in the White House, being described as ‘all in.’
Her words carry weight in the administration, where she keeps a close eye on President Biden. She is often seen on the Truman balcony of the White House, watching him disembark from Marine One on the South Lawn after a trip (once she even had a glass of wine in her hand).
She is often the hand on his elbow, guiding Biden when he lingers too long chatting to supporters or reporters or if he is simply running late.
She joined his last press conference after it was reported she privately told aides that they should have interferred at his previous one, where he took questions from reporters for almost two hours. And those included tough queries on his son Hunter’s business dealings and on his own cognitive health.
She sat in a chair on the sidelines at November’s event, watching him speak.
Jill Biden often stands on the Truman balcony (as she is above in September 2021) watching her husband disembark off Marine One on the South Lawn
President Joe Biden and Jill Biden this month – the couple have been married 45 years
Jill Biden is often the hand on his elbow, guiding Joe Biden when he lingers too long chatting to supporters or reporters or if he is simply running late – as she did above in October 2020
Jill Biden has forged her own path as first lady. She continues her job teaching English at a Northern Virginia community college – becoming the first modern first lady to work outside the administration.
But she balances that with her commitment to her husband’s political career.
In the 2022 midterm election, she was a tour de force on the campaign trail, a popular surrogate highly requested by Democrats to come to their state. She traversed the country, making stops in Wisconsin, Arizona, Texas and other areas – including states her husband avoided.
And the first lady told President Emmanuel Macron of France at a state dinner earlier this month that she and her husband are ready for the 2024 campaign, the New York Times reported. Then she, President Biden and Macron toasted to his second bid.
President Biden has teased that he will make his announcement in early 2023.
‘My guess is it will be early next year we make that judgment,’ he said at a post-election press conference at the White House last month.
And he said he doesn’t feel any pressure to hurry up about it – even though Trump had already announced he will run again.
‘My judgment of running when I announce, if I announce— my intention is that I run again, but I’m a great respecter of fate and this is ultimately a family decision. I think everybody wants me to run, but we’re gonna have discussions about it,’ Biden said. ‘And I don’t feel any hurry one way or another to make that judgment, today, tomorrow, whenever, no matter what my predecessor does.’
It’s unclear when that announcement may come. Biden has a busy first quarter for 2023 – his State of the Union address, working on his budget, and he will visit Mexico in early January as part of a North American leaders. Plus the situation in the Ukraine remains volatile and the country is still weathering the effects of the COVID pandemic.
And that schedule shows part of the reason he hasn’t announced – his aides say repeatedly he is focused on running the country. In other words, on being president.
Joe and Jill Biden arrive at the ceremony for the president to sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law
Jill Biden was active on the campaign trail in the 2022 midterm election – above she campaigns with Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona (he won re-election)
The entire Biden family supports a second term in the White House – above the president with son Hunter, his wife Melissa Cohen and their son Beau
Biden also has said he hasn’t formally announced because he doesn’t want to trigger certain election regulations that come with being a declared candidate. For example, it would have hampered his ability to raise cash for Democrats in the midterms and then go back to the same donors for his own re-election campaign.
If he follows President Barack Obama’s lead – the announcement could come in April. Obama announced his bid for a second term on April 4, 2011.
But the signs he’s running are in place.
Biden recently advocated for South Carolina – the state that gave him the Democratic nomination in 2020 – the first in the process that decides the party’s presidential nominee, a move that would benefit him in the 2024 election.
He also made his first post-midterm election visits to Arizona and Michigan – two states that will be crucial to his own re-election.
Some Democrats have expressed concerns about his age – Biden is 80 – and have called for the next generation of leadership to take charge.
The president, who will be 86 if he wins and completes a second term, has dismissed any age-related questions, pointing to a clean bill of health from his doctor.
Also, many of his Democratic critics were won over after Republicans failed to win a massive majority in the House and Democrats kept the Senate in November’s election.