Over the past few days, US President Joe Biden and his aides have reassured allies that he plans to run again in the 5 November 2024 election, according to The Washington Post (WaPo).
The newspaper claimed that the message is partly aimed at tamping down assumptions by some Democratic Party members that Biden may not seek re-election given his age and flagging popularity.
The Washington Post quoted former Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, a Biden friend, as saying that "the only thing I've heard him [POTUS] say is he's planning on running again; and I'm glad he is".
Dodd was echoed by former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who told the newspaper that "what he [Biden] is saying publicly is what he firmly believes. There's no difference".
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"He will not run if he feels he can't do the job physically or emotionally", Rendell asserted.
The Washington Post also cited an unnamed Biden adviser as saying that the 46th president "has told people privately that he plans to run [again] and we will be ready for that".
The same tone was struck by Steve Schale, chief executive of Unite the Country, a super Political Action Committee (PAC) formed by Biden loyalists. According to Schale: "I wake up every day operating like he [Biden] is running. He is running until he is not".
When asked whether he thinks Biden will run for re-election, an unnamed Democratic veteran, in turn, told WaPo that he hears "this question get asked every day" and that "no one ever asked that question about Barack Obama. No one ever asked that question about Donald Trump".
Florida trial lawyer John Morgan, a top 2020 Biden donor, remained downbeat about Biden's push for re-election.
"What is his health going to be in the next three years? All you have to do is look at the mortality tables in America to understand what I'm saying", Morgan noted.
The remarks came as Biden's health checkup at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre found the president to be "healthy", "vigorous", and working out five days a week.
Earlier this week, POTUS briefly transferred power to Vice President Kamala Harris while he was under anesthesia during a routine colonoscopy. This was the first time, even if for a brief period, that a woman had been at the helm of the United States.
Biden's approval rating has plunged to 44% despite lingering at 46% last month, according to Fox News polls.
The president's ratings have plummeted significantly since the start of his term in office, with respondents especially frustrated over the Biden administration's handling of immigration issues, increasing COVID-19 infections, as well as introduction of vaccination mandates and the chaotic US troop exit from Afghanistan.