First lady Jill Biden gave one of the clearest indications yet that President Biden will run for a second term, telling the AP in an exclusive interview on Friday that there's "pretty much" nothing left to do but figure out the time and place for the announcement. Although Biden has long said that it's his intention to seek reelection, he has yet to make it official, and he's struggled to dispel questions about whether he's too old to continue serving as president. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term. "How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?" the first lady said in Nairobi, the second and final stop of her five-day trip to Africa. She added, "He says he's not done. He's not finished what he's started. And that's what's important."
Granddaughter Naomi Biden, who's on the trip, cheered the first lady's comments after the interview. "Preach nana," she wrote on Twitter. The president himself was asked about his wife's comments just hours later in an interview with ABC News, and he laughed when told of her remarks, adding, "God love her. Look, I meant what I said, I've got other things to finish before I get into a full-blown campaign." Biden aides have said an announcement is likely to come in April, after the first fundraising quarter ends, which is around the time that former President Barack Obama officially launched his reelection campaign. The first lady has long been described as a key figure in Biden's orbit as he plans his future.
"Because I'm his wife," she laughed. She brushed off the question about whether she has the deciding vote on whether the president runs for reelection. "Of course he'll listen to me, because we're a married couple," she said. But, she added later, "he makes up his own mind, believe me." Jill Biden, a community college English and writing instructor, also touched on education, which has been a flashpoint in American politics, especially with conservative activists and politicians trying to limit discussion of race and sexuality in classrooms. "I don't believe in banning books," she said, adding, "I think the teachers and the parents can work together and decide what the kids should be taught."
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