Joe Biden told donors his decision to seek reelection was not automatic, saying he thought four additional years serving as president was a long time.
“It wasn’t an automatic decision about running again,” Biden said at a fundraiser Wednesday evening at the New York apartment of former Blackstone Inc. Vice Chairman Tony James.
Biden, 80, also acknowledged questions about his age were “totally legitimate” but said he hoped his experience in government would serve as an advantage.
“But I hope what I’ve been able to bring to bring to this job and will continue to is a little bit of wisdom,” said Biden, who announced his reelection campaign late last month. “I’m not going to walk away from anything that I don’t think is the best thing to do.”
“I think we’ve made some pretty solid decisions,” he added.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll released over the weekend found the president’s approval rating at just 36%, while 68% of Americans said he was too old to serve another term.
A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released earlier Wednesday, though, showed the president with a slight lead over both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – the two leading Republican candidates – in a potential head-to-head matchup.
The $25,000-per-ticket fundraiser was Biden’s second of the night following an event at the home of Libra Group Chairman George Logothetis earlier Wednesday that also included Phaedra Chrousos, Libra’s chief strategy officer.
Those seen headed into the fundraisers included included Blackstone Global Head of Credit Dwight Scott, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, and One Equity Partners co-founder Dick Cashin. Former Blackstone senior managing director Gideon Berger and Dan Brodsky of the Brodsky Organization LLC also attended.
--With assistance from Jennifer Epstein and Bill Allison.
