Biden Faces Questions About Age, Favorability

Biden's remarks on two of the biggest challenges of his campaign – his age and his approval ratings – were his first about his chances since he announced for reelection.

President Joe Biden knows he's old and that his poll numbers are not good. But he's running anyway, and he feels he can convince the voting public that he's the person to lead the country at what he called an "inflection point" for democracy in America and around the world.

"I notice the polling data, I keep hearing about it, that I'm between 42 and 46 percent favorable ratings, et cetera," Biden told reporters during a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is in Washington for a formal state visit, including a state dinner Wednesday evening.

"But everybody running for reelection at this time is in the same position," Biden told the questioner. "You make it sound like Biden's really underwater," but other polling shows higher support for the work he is doing on job creation, climate change and other issues, the president said.

"I can't even say, I guess, how old I am. I can't even say the number. I can't even say the number. It doesn’t even register with me," the 80-year-old Biden said.

"The only thing I can say is one of the things that people are going to find out: They're going to see a race, and they're going to judge whether or not I have it or don't have it," the president said.

Biden's remarks on two of the biggest challenges of his campaign – his age and his tepid-to-poor approval ratings – were the first remarks he has made about his chances since he announced his reelection bid on Tuesday.

Polling shows that voters overwhelmingly don't want to see a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump, although they might very well end up faced with that choice again.

Biden, in response to a direct question about Trump, said he didn't think he was the only Democrat who could beat the twice-impeached, indicted former president, but, "I know him well and I know the dangers he presents to our democracy. And we've been down this road before."

The Biden-Kamala Harris 2024 campaign released its first national TV ad Wednesday, "Flag," which warns about "an extreme movement that seeks to overturn elections, ban books and eliminate a woman's right to choose." It ends with a promise that "American democracy will not break."

The ad is the first of two in a two-week, seven-figure buy on national cable channels in the seven battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – all states where Biden's defeat of Trump ensured the Democrat's national victory.

"I took a hard look at it before I decided to run. ... I feel good and I feel excited about the prospects," Biden said Wednesday about the 2024 campaign.