Joe Biden ends re-election campaign

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Joe Biden ends re-election campaign
bbc.com
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I vaguely remember him saying he was going to be a 1 term candidate in 2020.

You're correct, he did. Everyone forgot that for some reason. Note that this article is from 2019:

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/11/biden-single-term-082129

Another top Biden adviser put it this way: “He’s going into this thinking, ‘I want to find a running mate I can turn things over to after four years but if that’s not possible or doesn’t happen then I’ll run for reelection.’ But he’s not going to publicly make a one term pledge.”

That source does not say what you're claiming it says.

Which is ironic, because he picked Harris then used her as the bearer of bad news at every single opportunity.

So add those together and it implies he doesn't think Harris has the chops. But, to be fair, if that was actually the plan, they would've given her much more PR over the last 4 years.

If it weren't Trump running I think he would have stepped aside. He believed in 2019, and probably still believes now, that he has the best chance against Trump and that Trump is a singularly existential threat.

it implies he doesn’t think Harris has the chops

Or that he changed his mind. Or that his assurances to aides that he wouldn't run for a second term were just to shut them up.

Power is seductive, and I think it's pretty likely that once he became president, he convinced himself that he was still the best one for the job, and that he uniquely deserved to continue to govern.

It feels like they have explicitly tried to prevent Kamala from getting positive coverage throughout.

He very specifically did not say publicly that he would be a 1 term president. Talking through the idea with aides and someone leaking it does not equal a campaign promise.

This is a new decision, obviously. He is going to be a 1 term president. But he never promised it.

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