Earth to Joe.
President Biden appeared to zone out after he was asked in a new interview whether his wife, Jill Biden, wants him to run for reelection in 2024.
“I have not made that formal decision but it’s my intention . . . to run again and we’ll have time to make that decision,” Biden told MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart when asked whether he plans on running again.
“Dr. Biden is for it?” Capehart asked as a follow-up — but was met with a long, awkward silence as Biden appeared to glance toward the floor in the sit-down interview that aired Friday night.
“Mr. President —,” the interviewer eventually interjected.
“Dr. Biden thinks that — my wife thinks that I, uh — that we’re doing something very important,” Biden finally said.
Biden, 79, would be 86 years old at the end of his term if he was re-elected in 2024. He has not officially declared another White House run as Democrats worry about his electability and mental well-being in his old age.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans — including a majority of Democrats — have said they are at least “somewhat concerned” about President Biden’s mental health, according to a Issues & Insights/TIPP poll published earlier this month.
Concerns over Biden’s mental health jumped 13 points among Democrats from August following Biden’s shocking gaffe in which he tried to recognize an Indiana congresswoman — forgetting she had died earlier this year.
Last month, a USA Today/Ipsos poll found that more than half of Democratic voters think President Biden should not seek re-election in 2024, saying they want a change in the party.
In a Fox News poll published on Sunday, only 33% of Americans said they would vote to reelect Biden if the 2024 election were held today while 54% said they would cast their ballot for another candidate.
Additionally, 56% of voters said they believe Biden does not have the “mental soundness” to serve as president, while 40% say he does.
Biden reportedly told Rev. Al Sharpton that he will be running for re-election during a visit to the White House last month.