Biden says he would run for re-election against Trump (2021) 0:35
(CNN) --
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday dismissed concerns that President Joe Biden's age or stamina could pose a challenge to his re-election bid, saying, "That It's not a question we should ask."
"Oh my God, he's the president of the United States, you know, him, I can't even keep up with him," Jean-Pierre told CNN's Don Lemon.
"We just got back from New Mexico, we just got back from California... just look at the work that he does, and look at what it is, how it's doing for the American public."
Jean-Pierre dismissed a New York Times article that quoted former Obama chief strategist and CNN political commentator David Axelrod as saying Joe Biden's age was "a major issue" for a re-election bid.
Jean-Pierre called the report "hearsay, it's bogus."
"That's not what we care about ... what we care about is how are we going to deliver to the American people? How are we going to improve their lives? That's what the president is talking about. That's his focus. And that's where we're going to keep focusing," he told Lemon.
He also took the opportunity to reiterate that Joe Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024.
“There is something called the Hatch Law that I must take into account.
What I can say is that the president has said repeatedly that he plans to run in 2024, and I will have to leave it at that," Jean Pierre said. "All I can say is that the president intends to do what the president plans to do." .
advertising
The White House press secretary again defended the administration's response to rising prices, touting its American Bailout Plan and bipartisan infrastructure law while blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine for the rise. of energy and food costs.
"This is a president who understands what's going on around the kitchen table, he grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, when prices go up a little bit, that really affects families," he said, adding that Americans are "seeing a recovering economy" and low unemployment.
"That is why we believe that we are in a good position to face inflation," he continued.
"But yeah, we understand that people are feeling this, and we have to remember, when we think about gas prices and food prices, this is coming from Putin's war against Ukraine. The moment when Putin built up forces on the border of Ukraine, we've seen, from then until now, we've seen an increase of $2 per gallon of gasoline."
Jean-Pierre dismissed the charge that the administration's efforts to stimulate the economy have contributed to inflation, telling Lemon, "We don't think it has. The American Rescue Plan met the timing and has led to this historic economic place we're in right now; unemployment is low, we've created 8.7 million jobs, jobs that are better for most Americans, and that's what matters, what really matters.
He also touted the recently reached agreement in principle on gun safety legislation in the Senate.
"The fact that we've seen those two parties come together, they negotiated, they're legislating right now, that's a step forward," Jean-Pierre said.
“And this is what the negotiation looks like: the president will continue to fight and demand that, the other elements that he has presented.”
Re-election