Last Sunday, CBS aired the "60 Minutes" interview with President Joe Biden, during which he offered a differing narrative as to if he would run for re-election in 2024 after all. "Look, my intention as I said to begin with is that I would run again," Biden told host Scott Pelley. "But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) certainly got on board with that narrative, as evidenced by her caginess during her weekly press conference last Thursday. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, however, may not have gotten that memo.
REPORTER: "56% of Democrats want the party to nominate someone other than Biden, and for people under 40, 75% want...someone different. Is the president concerned by this?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 26, 2022
JEAN-PIERRE: "What the president has said many times...he intends to run." pic.twitter.com/0ECKiY7oS3
During Monday's press briefing, a reporter referenced a poll released over the weekend by ABC/The Washington Post. Guy highlighted key findings, and it's not looking good for Democrats when we're only a little over six weeks away from the midterms. She brought up how "56 percent of Democrats want the party to nominate someone other than Biden, and for people under 40, 75 percent want the party to pick someone different."
That's not to say that Biden's definitely ruled out running. He may still do so. These numbers thus aren't good news for him. The reporter asked "is the president concerned by this?" and "how is he digesting a number like that?"
Jean-Pierre, who often struggles to come up with a comprehensive answer, tried to dodge the question this time by pointing out "so, as you know, I'm--I'm very limited on how I can discuss any kind of elections. Uh, I will reiterate what we have said many times from here, what the president has said many times, even as recently as his "60 Minutes" interview, is that he intends to run. Uh, I don't have any more announcements on that."
She then went on to make an almost laughable claim that "the president will--will say, as I'm saying right now, is that his focus is not on himself. His focus is on continuing to deliver for the American people, after taking action." Jean-Pierre then went on to discuss at great lengths certain so-called successes of this administration, including the misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act," which she touted throughout the press briefing, despite how it will do no such thing to fix inflation.
Jean-Pierre, in her time answering a question that directly asked if Biden was "concerned" by poll numbers showing even members of his own party don't want him to run, also went on to claim that the president sees prices and the economy "a priority," a point she reiterated throughout the press briefing. "And, you know, we--I said this at the top, we have done everything that we can, the president has made lowering costs for the American people a priority, has made the economy a priority for the American people," she claimed.
These remarks fly right in the face of countless polls, including a recent Fox News poll from earlier this month that showed just 29 percent of respondents approve of Biden's handling of inflation, and 34 percent approve of his handling of the economy. The poll also showed that an increase in respondents said inflation was a hardship for them, at 78 percent, which was at 75 percent in July's poll. Further, 52 percent said that the administration has not "been competent and effective in managing the federal government.
When it comes to an average of polls, RealClearPolitics finds that 38.3 percent approve of his handling on the economy, while 58.1 percent disapprove. It doesn't appear, then, that many Americans would agree with Jean-Pierre that Biden considers the economy a "priority."
What makes Jean-Pierre's remarks even more tone deaf is that she herself mentions the "60 Minutes" interview, which everyone took away from that it "remains to be seen" if him running again even is a "firm decision."
Further, when it comes to Jean-Pierre being careful, it's worth reminding that Jean-Pierre has often attacked and demonized the administration's Republican opponents from the podium, especially ahead of the midterms.
Past remarks from the president shows that he doesn't "digest" such numbers very well. During his press conference in January, he claimed "I don't believe the polls." As it turns out, though, Biden may be concerned about the polls after all, an NBC News report from May 31 revealed. When Biden was confronted by a reporter in July about how a poll from The New York Times/Siena College similarly showed that a majority of Democrats want someone other than him to run in 2024, he completely ignored that key finding.
The narrative about 2024 could very well be changing. Even friendly news outlets have been talking for months about how Biden may not be fit to run. As usual, Jean-Pierre seems to be on a completely different page, though.