President Joe Biden in Ballina, Ireland on Friday
US President Joe Biden wants to announce his decision on a possible candidacy for next year’s presidential election “relatively soon”. “I’ve already made that calculation,” Biden said before leaving Ireland.
US President Joe Biden wants to announce his decision on a possible candidacy for next year’s presidential election “relatively soon”. “I’ve already made that calculation,” Biden said ahead of his departure from Ireland on Friday. His three-day tour of Northern Ireland and Ireland gave him optimism “about what can be done,” continued the US President.
Speaking to reporters, Biden said, “I told you, my plan is to run again.”
The US President had already announced his intention to run for the presidency again at the end of February. However, he did not want to officially announce his candidacy. He had “other things to do first before I go full into the election campaign,” said Biden at the time.
The 80-year-old ended his visit to Ireland on Friday by addressing some 27,000 people outside St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, one of his ancestors’ hometowns. Irish and Americans are united by an optimistic vision, Biden said: “Even in times of darkness and despair, hope has drawn us into a brighter future, with greater freedom, greater dignity and greater opportunity.”
Biden’s visit to his ancestral lands was marked by personal and emotional encounters. On Friday he also met with Priest Frank O’Grady, who eight years ago had given Biden’s son Beau last rites before his death at Walter Reed Hospital near Washington. The President said it was “amazing” to speak to O’Grady. The meeting had only happened at short notice and was more of a coincidence. “It seemed like a sign,” Biden said.
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