Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who’s seeking to return to Congress in New York’s special election Tuesday, said in a Monday interview that President Biden is “old” but that he will likely support his reelection in 2024.
“I mean, the bottom line is he’s old. I mean, he’s 81 years old,” Suozzi said in an interview on “Good Day New York” when asked whether Biden is too old to run for president again.
“We all know people — I know 81-year-old people that are in good shape, and I know 81-year-olds that are not in great shape. He’s old, and there’s no question about it,” Suozzi said.
Suozzi said he’s “likely” to support Biden’s reelection bid but left the door open to a different candidate ultimately ascending to the top of the ticket.
“If he ends up being the Democratic candidate, I’m likely to support him, yes. We’ve got to see what happens,” Suozzi said.
“There’s all kinds of debate as to whether or not he’s going to stick it out or not,” Suozzi later added. “I don’t have any inside scoop or anything like that, but, you know, let’s see what happens between now and the Democratic convention.”
Suozzi is facing Republican candidate Mazi Pilip in his bid to win back his old House seat representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
He has distanced himself from Biden and from establishment Democrats throughout his campaign to replace former Rep. George Santos (R), who was expelled from the House at the end of last year.
Still, Suozzi criticized those insulting the sitting president, an office he suggested demanded more respect across party lines.
“He’s the president of the United States of America. I don’t like people insulting the president of the United States of America. And I’d do the same thing when Trump was the president; I don’t like people insulting the president of the United States of America,” Suozzi said.
“This is serious business. This is not games. This is life and death with people getting killed all over the world. There are people that are worried they can’t keep their houses, they can’t — their kids are not going to do as well as them. This is serious business,” Suozzi continued. “And this tweeting, attacking, you know, ‘You’re no good,’ ‘You’re no good,’ is killing our country.”