Biden says 2024 announcement ‘to run again’ is imminent

President Biden said on Friday that he will announce his decision about 2024 “relatively soon,” reiterating that his plan is to run again.

Mr. Biden, 80, told reporters that he has already made his decision as he boarded Air Force One on his way back from a four-day visit to Ireland.

“I’ve already made that calculus, we’ll announce it relatively soon,” he said. “The trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done.”

“I told you, my plan is to run again,” Mr. Biden said.

His plans have been the subject of growing speculation, amid low job-approval ratings and polls showing that even most Democratic voters want someone else to run for the party’s nomination next year. He is the oldest president in history.

The president said on Monday that he plans on running in 2024 but isn’t ready to make the official announcement, during a “Today” show segment on the White House Easter Egg Roll.

“I plan on at least three or four more Easter egg rolls. Maybe five. Maybe six, what the hell? I don’t know,” Mr. Biden said.

The White House has repeatedly said Mr. Biden intends to run, but the lack of a formal announcement has fueled speculation as to whether Democrats will need to put forward an alternative to take on former President Donald Trump, who has already formally declared his candidacy for 2024.

Mr. Biden has hinted he would relish a rematch against Mr. Trump.

The former president leads in the GOP primary field, according to early polling, but faces a slew of legal challenges.

Last month, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Mr. Trump on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to a porn actress dating back to before his election in 2016.

Mr. Trump has blasted the charges as a political ploy to derail his bid for the White House, and touted the millions of dollars in campaign donations he has raked in since the indictment.

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he doesn’t think Mr. Biden will run for reelection, despite his assurances that he intends to do so.

“I don’t see how it’s possible,” he said. “Look, I watch him just like you do. And I think it’s almost inappropriate for me to say it,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “But there’s something wrong.”