While President Joe Biden has been fundraising for his 2024 re-election campaign, he revealed one of the reasons he is seeking a second term as the commander in chief.
And that reason is former President Donald Trump, according to The Associated Press.
Biden was at a fundraising event in Weston, Massachusetts, Tuesday when he stated the 45th president may have influenced his decision.
“If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden said.
“But we cannot let him win, for the sake of the country.”
The moment came as one of several the AP reported about Biden making news during normally repetitive speeches to big-money donors in swanky homes.
“Biden has a history of being more candid than usual when surrounded by deep-pocketed supporters,” the report stated.
Biden tells Dem donors ‘I’m not sure I’d be running’ if Trump was out https://t.co/RRy9SUfVyr pic.twitter.com/XfSEewTl0N
— New York Post (@nypost) December 5, 2023
While Biden may be running because of Trump, it does not appear to be translating to the current polls.
Should Biden have sought re-election in 2024?
A recent Wall Street Journal poll reported Saturday, and conducted between Nov. 29 to Dec. 4, showed Trump having a slight lead over Biden.
According to the poll, if the two candidates were going head to head, Biden lags by 4 percentage points, with 43 percent to Trump’s 47 percent.
Trump’s lead expands when more candidates are thrown into the mix — going up to 6 percentage points vs. Biden.
The poll also stated Biden’s unfavorability rating has continued to increase over his presidency.
The current commander in chief had a 53 percent unfavorable opinion in November 2021. This month, that number is 61 percent, with 50 percent holding a “very unfavorable” view.
The poll has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points and was conducted through cell phone, landline, and text-to-web.
While Trump does not currently have the GOP presidential nomination, he continues to dominate in the polls.
Trump maintains his lead with 59.3 percent of support, according to the polling site Fivethirtyeight.
His closest competitor is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with only 12.6 percent.
