White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre raised eyebrows during a Tuesday press briefing when she suggested President Joe Biden might not serve a full second term if he is reelected.
"I’m just not going to get ahead of the president," Jean-Pierre said when asked whether Biden would serve all eight years, adding it’s "something for him to decide."
Jean-Pierre quickly walked back the remark on Twitter, saying Biden would serve all eight years and claiming she was only equivocal in her response because she was concerned about violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from engaging in political activity.
"So I wanted to be sure that I didn't go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law," Jean-Pierre said on Twitter. "But I can confirm that if re-elected, @POTUS would serve all 8 years."
Biden’s age has come into focus for voters after his reelection announcement Tuesday. At 80 years old, he is already the oldest president in history and would be 86 years old at the end of a second term.
The video announcement published by his campaign stands in contrast to statements Biden made in March 2019 suggesting he might only serve one term to let a younger generation take the reigns. "Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else," Biden said at the time. "There is an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me."
Biden later added, "I may end up, if I get elected, only having one term."
The notion that Biden might retire before the end of a second also raises the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris assuming the presidency. Her net favorability is even lower than Biden's, according to the Washington Post.
Biden is facing the lowest support from within his own party for reelection of any recent president. Just 38 percent of Democrats said the party should nominate Biden for reelection, compared with 57 percent who want to find another candidate, according to an average of polls conducted throughout his term published in the Washington Post Monday.
Both former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama saw more than 70 percent of members of their own party support a second term.