US President Joe Biden said that he was not sure if he would run for reelection if Republican opponent Donald Trump did not declare his intention to seek a second term.
During a fundraiser for a 2024 election campaign in Weston, Massachusetts, Biden said, "If Trump wasn't in the race, I might not be either."
"But we cannot let him win," he asserted.
Biden's concerns stem from warnings by former Republican Liz Cheney, who highlighted the perils of Donald Trump's potential return to power.
The US president also mentioned that major media outlets such as the Atlantic, Washington Post, and New York Times have echoed these worries, emphasising the risks associated with a second Trump term.
At a separate fundraiser in Boston, Biden criticised Trump's aggressive campaign language, drawing parallels to historical rhetoric from the 1930s in Germany. He emphasised Trump's brazenness in openly stating his intentions, saying, "He's not hiding the ball anymore."
Despite positioning himself as the defender of American democracy, Biden faces challenges as Trump maintains a narrow lead in certain opinion polls, despite legal hurdles including an election subversion trial.
Internal discussions among Democrats about Biden's age add complexity to the upcoming election. Trump's response on his Truth Social network labeled Biden as the "real dictator."