Just 11 days after returning to the United States after his whistle-stop tour of diplomatic and ancestral engagements in Ireland, US President Joe Biden has announced that he will run for a second term at the age of 81.
His relatives, fresh from welcoming their illustrious distant cousin to Co Mayo and Co Louth, were pleased but not surprised to hear the news.
“I think it was probably the worst kept secret over the last couple of weeks anyways, so it’s not really a shock announcement that he’s going to run again,” Laurita Blewitt, Mr Biden’s third cousin from Mayo, said.
“He has been in politics all his life, so it’s not really a shock. He always talks very passionately about [how] if he was initially fit for the job five years ago, and he was going to run [then], and the same applies for now.
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“He is in good health, we saw him here in Ireland last week in great spirits and great energy, so it’s fantastic to see him run again,” she said.
In Louth, Mr Biden’s fifth cousin, Andrea McKevitt, a Fianna Fáil councillor for Dundalk and Carlingford, also welcomed the “great news”.
“We spoke about it on his trip to Ireland. I said to him, being a councillor, ‘It’s going to be a big year for us next year President, I’m running for the council, and you’ll be seeking re-election to the White House’, and he thought that was a great line,” Cllr McKevitt said.
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If re-elected, Mr Biden would be turning 82 just two weeks after election day, which is scheduled for November 5th, 2024.
He would be 86 at the end of a second term.
Ms Blewitt was unperturbed by such a prospect and said there “should be no reason for him not to run again,” as he is in good health and has been in politics all his life.
“It’s America, it’s not like Ireland, we retire here at a reasonable age, you don’t do that as much in America – you don’t really retire from work in America,” she said.
“He’s sensible, he has got good family around him and he’s in good health himself, I see no reason for him not to run,” Ms Blewitt said.
Cllr McKevitt said what she saw on the trip to Ireland was enough to reassure her about his fitness.
“He was flying around the place, he was loving the engagements and that’s what the campaign trail is going to be all about, engaging with people. He really came into his own here in Ireland when he had to do that so I don’t think it’s going to be a bother to him at all,” she said.
