(Nairobi) Jill Biden on Friday gave one of the clearest indications yet that her husband, President Joe Biden, will run for a second term.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Mr.me Biden said all that remained was to set the time and place for the official announcement.
Although Mr Biden has long hammered home that he intends to run again, he has yet to officially announce it. And he still has to dispel the impression that he’s too old — he’ll be 86 at the end of a second term.
“How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” “said Mr.me Biden in Nairobi, the second and final leg of his five-day trip to Africa. “He says he hasn’t finished. He didn’t finish what he started. And that’s what’s important. »
PHOTO BY BRIAN INGANGA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jill Biden participated in a meeting with Kenyan women leaders at the United States Ambassadors Residence in Nairobi, Kenya on February 24.
The president’s entourage has already said an announcement is expected to take place in April, after the end of the first quarter of fundraising — around the time President Barack Obama officially launched his re-election campaign.
Mme Biden is seen as a key figure when it comes time for her husband to plan for his future. “Because I’m his wife,” she laughs. Of course he will listen to me, because we are a couple. But believe me, he makes up his own mind. »
PHOTO EVAN VUCCI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Joe Biden and his wife Jill
Skin cancer
Jill Biden also spoke at length, for the first time, about her diagnosis of skin cancer, which led doctors to remove several basal cell lesions from her last month.
“I was like, ‘Oh, it’s just something on my eye,’ you know,” she said. But then they said, ‘no, we think it’s deeper’. Then the doctors checked his chest, she said, and they concluded, ‘It’s definitely basal cell’.
“So I’m lucky,” said M.me Biden. Believe me, I’m so lucky they saw it, took it out, and I’m healthy. »
Raising awareness about cancer screening has been a cornerstone of their efforts for years, even before their son, Beau, died of a brain tumor a decade ago.
Mme Biden is the only “first lady” to pursue her career in addition to her official duties: she teaches writing and English to community college students. At 71, she stresses that she is not ready to think about retirement. “I know I’ll know when enough is enough, but it’s not yet. »
Mme Biden also touched on the legacy of former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, who recently started hospice home care. The Carter Center, which the former president founded after leaving the White House, played a key role in eliminating the Guinea worm parasite from African countries.
“He’s the perfect example,” she says. He is such a humble man. He didn’t come out saying, “Look what I’ve done.” He just did. »
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AP NOTE: Darlene Superville has covered the White House and first ladies since 2009 and co-authored, with AP editor Julie Pace, a 2022 biography of Jill Biden.