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U.S. President Joe Biden told NBC host Al Roker on April 10 that he plans to run for a second term.
“I plan on running, Al, but we’re not prepared to announce it yet,” he said.
According to NBC, there are several factors influencing Biden's decision to run, namely the lack of a challenger in the Democratic party, former President Donald Trump getting indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, and an imminent clash with Republicans over budget spending.
Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and at the beginning of the invasion, the Biden administration was initially slow to provide military aid to Kyiv and impose harsh sanctions on Russia.
However, during Biden's time as president, the U.S. has provided more than $35.1 billion in defense aid to Ukraine. Biden also made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Feb. 20, his first as president, shortly before the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
"One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands," Biden said, praising the strength of Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression.
The Biden administration is also asking Congress for more than $6 billion in assistance to support the war effort in Ukraine in the 2024 fiscal year, according to a budget document published in early March.
There is no clear Republican frontrunner to challenge Biden as of yet, but the two main front runners, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, have made troubling comments about Russia's all-out war in Ukraine.
On March 23, DeSantis claimed that his comment about the war being a "territorial dispute" had been "mischaracterized." He also later acknowledged that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was a war criminal.
Trump's future in politics remains uncertain due to his recent indictment over a "hush money" scandal but he announced his plan to seek a second non-consecutive term as president in November 2022.
Following DeSantis' comment that Putin was a war criminal, Trump said on March 29 that such comments only "increase the chance of nuclear escalation."
Regarding his time in office, Trump also said he "got along with (Putin) great" during an interview with Fox News in early March, adding that if he'd still been president Putin likely wouldn't have invaded Ukraine.
"I could have negotiated," Trump continued. "At worst, I could’ve made a deal to take over something, there are certain areas that are Russian-speaking areas, frankly, but you could’ve worked a deal.”
