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President Biden on Wednesday pledged to keep Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate if he seeks a second term in 2024.
Harris recently claimed she and the 79-year-old president have not even discussed a possible re-election bid, but Biden said at just his second solo White House press conference that he’s not making a change.
“You put Vice President Harris in charge of voting rights. Are you satisfied with her work on this issue? And can you guarantee, do you commit that she will be your running mate in 2024 provided that you run again?” NBC reporter Kristen Welker asked Biden in the White House East Room.
“Yes and yes,” Biden replied.
“Do you care to expand?” Welker asked.
“No, there’s no need to. I mean, she’s going to be my running mate, number one. And number two, I did put her in charge. I think she’s doing a good job,” Biden said.
Biden already is the oldest-ever president, spurring doubts that he will seek another term.
Harris last week slammed “gossip” that Biden might replace her on the Democratic ticket with someone else, such as Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
“Are we going to see the same Democratic ticket in 2024?” NBC reporter Craig Melvin asked Harris in a “Today” show interview.
“I’m sorry, we are thinking about today,” Harris replied after a pause. “I mean, honestly, I know why you’re asking the question because this is part of the punditry and the gossip around places like Washington, DC.”
Harris added: “Let me just tell you something. We’re focused on the things in front of us. We’re focused on what we need to do to address issues like affordable child care, what we need to do to ensure that —”
“So there have been no conversations about 2024?” Melvin interrupted.
“The American people sent us here to do a job and right now there’s a lot of work to be done,” Harris said. “And that’s my focus, sincerely.”
Last month, the veep told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that she and Biden have not discussed whether they are running together for re-election. She also said she was unaware of whether Biden is running for a second term.
“I will tell you this without any ambiguity: We do not talk about nor have we talked about re-election, because we haven’t completed our first year and we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” she said.
Asked specifically if she believes Biden will run again, Harris told the paper, “I’ll be very honest: I don’t think about it, nor have we talked about it.”
Harris experienced a recent staff exodus amid reports that she is a difficult boss. Her allies, meanwhile, have griped about Biden handing her tough assignments, such as reducing illegal immigration from Central America and pushing for election reform legislation that’s unlikely to pass due to opposition from Senate centrists to reducing the usual 60-vote requirement for bills to 50 votes.
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