Biden could discuss 2024 as first family keeps Thanksgiving tradition in Nantucket
President Joe Biden is spending Thanksgiving with his family in Nantucket, Massachusetts, as is their tradition, but the talk around the dinner table this year could turn to his political future.
Biden told reporters after the midterm elections he'd be conferring with his family over the holidays, and that while it's his intention to run again in 2024, he has yet to make a final decision.
"I'm a great respecter of fate," he said. "And this is, ultimately, a family decision. I think everybody wants me to run, but … we're going to have discussions about it."
"I hope Jill and I get a little time to actually sneak away for a week around -- between Christmas and Thanksgiving," he continued. "And my guess is it would be early next year when we make that judgment."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was tight-lipped Tuesday when pressed during a briefing whether the Biden family Thanksgiving would include discussions about 2024.
"He's going to have a private conversation with his family. I am certainly not going to lay out what that conversation could look like or potentially be," she said.
The Bidens will be in Nantucket until Sunday, continuing their Thanksgiving tradition that dates back to 1975.
In 2020 Biden's family decided together about his run, with his eldest granddaughter Naomi calling a family meeting to urge him to challenge then-President Donald Trump.
Biden's predecessor has already announced that he is running for the Republican nomination. An ABC News/Washington Post poll from September found Biden and Trump to be essentially tied in a hypothetical rematch, with 48% of Americans backing Biden and 46% backing Trump.
Biden's been boosted after a better-than-expected performance by Democrats in the midterm elections. The party avoided a complete Republican takeover of Congress, managing to keep control of the Senate and limit their losses in the House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said after the midterms showing that she believed Biden should seek a second term.
"He has been a great president and he has a great record to run on," she told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" on Nov. 13.
Vice President Kamala Harris, asked about 2024 plans while visiting the Philippines, said Tuesday that if Biden runs again, "I will be running with him."
"And I have no doubt about the strength that we have done over these past two years," Harris said.
But questions are also mounting about his age. Biden recently celebrated his 80th birthday, making him the first octogenarian to serve as commander in chief in the nation's history. If he were to seek reelection, and win, he would be 86 by the end of his second term.
As Biden considers his next move, Pelosi and other long-reigning Democratic leaders have announced they are stepping down from their roles. In her farewell speech on the House floor, Pelosi, 82, nodded to passing the torch to rising Democratic stars.
"For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect," Pelosi said. "And I am grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility."
Before departing for Nantucket, the Bidens rang in some of the holiday cheer in Washington with the annual pardoning of Thanksgiving turkeys and the arrival of the official White House Christmas tree.
President Biden and Jill Biden also shared a Thanksgiving meal with military members and their families at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point in North Carolina.
"You are literally, not figuratively, the greatest fighting force, the best fighting force in the history of the world," Biden told service members. "That's not hyperbole -- in the history of the world. It's not a joke. And you really are an incredible group of women and men. And again, I want to thank the spouses as well, because they put up with an awful lot because of your service."
