Former first lady Michelle Obama on Monday praised President Biden but stopped short of endorsing a 2024 reelection bid.
Asked in a “20/20” interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts whether she hoped Biden would run again, Obama said, “You know, I — I will have to see.”
Obama, who is on a press tour promoting her new book, “The Light We Carry,” said that Biden, who served as vice president in her husband’s administration, is “doing the best he can under some tough circumstances” but declined to comment on whether he should run for another term in the White House.
“The reason I don’t speak on that is because I know what it feels like to be on the other side of it, and I think that that’s a personal decision that he and his family have to make,” Obama said.
“Probably, if I hadn’t been through it, I would feel more cavalier about opining on it, but I know it’s a personal call, and I don’t want to be one of the millions of people weighing in on what he should do, he and Jill should do,” she added, referring to first lady Jill Biden.
The 79-year-old president has faced low approval ratings, concerns about his age and polls indicating that many Americans don’t want him to make another White House bid, but Biden has said he intends to run again.
A formal decision hasn’t yet been made, but Biden has teased that he’ll make the call about whether to run early next year.
Former President Trump, who has also hinted heavily at a 2024 bid, last week called it “inconceivable” that Biden would run for reelection.
Trump is expected to announce his own candidacy on Tuesday.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday called Biden a “great president for our country” and said he should run again.