Rev. Al Sharpton Confirms President Joe Biden Said He Will Run For Re-election Next Year

Rev. Al Sharpton said President Joe Biden told him he would seek a second term during a private conversation at the White House last month.

“I’m going to do it again,” Biden, 79, said while posing for a photo in the Roosevelt Room with Sharpton, according to NBC News. “I’m going.”

While those around Biden have long said he will run again, the president has kept his true intentions close to the vest, in part because declaring he will run will subject him to campaign finance laws. Biden’s remarks to Sharpton came at the tail end of a meeting with leaders of several civil rights organizations.

Biden was elected to his first term largely due to the Black vote supporting him. Biden’s win in Georgia, which pushed him to victory over former President Donald Trump, was partly because of Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight organization, which registered thousands of Black and minority voters in the Peach State. According to Real Clear Politics, his approval numbers have also risen from 36.8% in July to 42.1%.

The president’s first term has been a rocky one. Still, he does have several legislative victories, including the Inflation Reduction Act, his plan to eliminate $10,000 in student loan debt for millions of Americans, and his support of abortion rights when the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. Biden has also put together the most diverse presidential cabinet in U.S. history.

However, the country is still dealing with rising inflation, a looming recession, supply chain issues, the COVID-19 pandemic, which is almost three years in, and a lack of stability and federal guidance at the southern border.

If Biden runs and loses, he will become the first Democratic U.S. President not to win re-election since Jimmy Carter, as former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both won re-election. Vice President Kamala Harris will play a big part in whether Biden wins re-election.