The cat’s out of the bag…President Joe Biden just told Rev. Al Sharpton that he will seek a second term in the White House. This happened in a private conversation, according to the civil rights leader. He told his National Action Network staff in Washington later that same day.
“I’m going to do it again,” Biden said as he posed for a photograph with MSNBC host Sharpton.
Some of Biden’s allies have also said that the president will run again, although Biden himself has not made such a clear declaration.
His remarks to Sharpton at the end of a civil rights meeting represents the strongest assertion yet that he will be on the ballot again.
NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment on Biden’s intentions.
In the previous election in 2020, Black voters were the key to Biden’s comeback in the Democratic primary. They helped him win the pivotal South Carolina contest after he failed to take first place in the first three races in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
Biden’s overwhelming support among Black voters launched him to an insurmountable delegate lead on Super Tuesday.
The 2020 race was the context of the conversation Biden was having with Sharpton at the White House meeting. Sharpton reminded Biden that the two had sat down in January 2019 at an event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
Biden had not yet declared his candidacy and was seeking Sharpton’s endorsement. This was a big ask because the field at that time included now-Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., both of whom are Black.
Sharpton recounted for the group at the White House that conversation nearly four years ago and said he was among the first to know that Biden would ultimately run.
Biden told Sharpton he was right that he was among the first to know about the 2020 bid. Then he told Sharpton he was going to “do it again,” Sharpton told his aides.
Watch:
