Biden Believes in His Mission as US President, Even beyond 2024

In his State of the Union address, Joe Biden said that he still needs to “finish the job.” This hints at a second term.

We are used to this with Joe Biden; he is not a naturally gifted speaker such as Barack Obama. He takes a while to get to the point, gets muddled sometimes and appears unfocused. This was the case as he began his annual State of the Union address Tuesday night, the first speech since the Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives.

Even those who sympathize with Biden must have inadvertently found themselves thinking, “Is that really the president the U.S. needs in these tough times? And should Biden run again in two years, given that he will be 82 years old by then?”

At any rate, Biden seems to believe strongly in his mission at the White House. He repeated several times that he must “finish the job.” And the longer he spoke, the more he got going and started to appear more alert and even gladiatorial. The man who took office two years ago with the promise of conciliation came across as abrupt and blunt at times.

On this evening, he was helped, albeit unwittingly, by a camp of far-right Republicans of all people who have declared their hostility to him.

Biden parried heckles of “liar” with uncharacteristic wit. It was a win for Biden, who also warned yet again that the U.S. is at a fork in the road.

No, this was not preparation for retirement. Nor was it an attempt to tidy up and take stock. Biden may have indirectly and elegantly announced his bid as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.