Five signs Biden is definitely running for another term

President Biden is expected to announce another bid for the presidency sometime in the early months of the new year.

Officially, Biden is still considering whether to run for a second term, and the president’s age and approval ratings — he is 80 and more people in polls generally hold a negative than positive view of his presidency — have led some to privately doubt whether he’ll go forward.

“I love the guy,” one Democratic strategist said. “But even I have my doubts.”

Despite such misgivings, most of the signals coming from Biden, the White House and the Democratic Party suggest he is fully planning to run for reelection.

Here are the reasons why so many people are certain that Biden is running again.

The Democratic field is quiet

There’s not much talk of any Democrat other than Biden jumping into the 2024 fray.

Typically, around this time in a presidential cycle, there would be strong signals from would-be candidates considering White House runs. Such signals would include visits to early primary states testing the waters for a formal campaign launch.

But there has been very little movement from any prospective Biden challengers, including progressives who might be inclined to challenge the president.

Democratic donors and fundraisers also say there isn’t much discussion of anyone else other than the president running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“There’s zero talk of anyone else right now,” one donor said. “All eyes on Biden.”

Biden has told allies he’s in

Biden in recent months has told everyone from former President Obama to close aides and allies that while he’s “a great believer in fate,” as he often puts it, he fully expects to run for the White House again.

Asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker at a news conference last month about what he would say to the two-thirds of Americans who didn’t think he should run for reelection, he had a simple retort: “Watch me.”

Biden is known to keep a tight circle of advisers, and they’re also sending signals that another run is more than likely.

Earlier this month, White House chief of staff Ron Klain told attendees at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council conference that Biden would likely make an announcement following the holiday season and Klain said he believes “the decision will be to do it,” according to a report in The New York Times.

Details of a Biden campaign are beginning to surface

A presidential campaign takes considerable work and help, and there are some signs that Biden is already preparing by sounding out candidates for key positions and considering where to locate his campaign headquarters.

Names of a potential campaign manager and other senior staff are already beginning to appear in print and in closed-door conversations among top Democrats.

“It’s the natural progression for any imminent campaign,” one strategist said. “Those conversations are happening months before a launch.”

A report in The Washington Post out last week said Biden’s team, together with the Democratic National Committee, is already considering how to fine tune their digital operation, with White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty expected to play a similar role on the 2024 campaign. At the same time, as the initial search begins for senior aides, Politico ran a piece listing the top contenders for campaign manager.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Biden aides are considering whether their campaign headquarters would be located in Philadelphia — the site of Biden’s 2020 campaign headquarters — or Wilmington.

“The absolutely number one sign is people starting to complain about the idea of moving to Delaware possibly,” Democratic strategist Eddie Vale quipped when asked if it looked like Biden was running for reelection.

The White House has a campaign message 

When Biden hit the road for the midterms, he was test driving a message, one that White House allies suggest he’ll likely use for his own reelection bid.

One ally said Biden will continue to make the choice clear for voters between “extreme MAGA Republicans” — as the president has dubbed them — and Democrats.

It’s part of an effort to tie all Republicans to former President Trump and his “Make American Great Again” movement.

“This election is not a referendum,” Biden said last month at Florida Memorial University. “It’s a choice. It’s a choice between two vastly different visions for America.”

First lady Jill Biden says they’re ready

Anyone looking for clues about a Biden run was surely intrigued by the reports of the first lady’s conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month at the White House State Dinner.

Jill Biden told the French leader that she and her husband are ready for the reelection campaign, The New York Times reported.

The admission began when the first lady told Macron and others that her fitness routine helps her “clear her head,” particularly on the campaign trail.

This prompted Macron to ask if she’s ready for the reelection campaign.

The first lady said yes, which led the French president to make a “playful” toast to Biden’s reelection campaign at their table. (Biden raised his glass of Coca-Cola.)

“Anyone looking for clues about what the president is doing should follow the signals from Jill Biden,” one strategist said. “She’s key in all of this.”

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