Fact Check: Has Joe Biden Confirmed 2024 Run?

Speculation over President Joe Biden's run for re-election in 2024 started circulating on social media after a form was filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by his campaign committee.

The filing, which updated the president's "Biden for President" committee, was interpreted by some as a sign that an announcement about 2024 was imminent.

Since the first half of Biden's presidency, the question of whether the president will run in 2024—and potentially face a re-match with Donald Trump—has loomed over his administration.

The topic of Biden's possible 2024 bid is a sensitive one for the White House and the Democratic Party, as polls show that most Americans are worried about his age and a majority of Democratic voters would prefer another nominee.

At 79 years old, Biden is already the oldest president in American history and would be 86 at the end of a second term, if re-elected.

Biden himself has repeatedly said he intends to run again for the 2024 presidential election, though his bid for re-election has not officially been made and it's yet far from definite.

The Claim

On August 31, 2022, several well-followed Twitter accounts declared that the filing by the 2020 "Biden for President" committee of an updated "Statement of Organization" with the FEC was a clear sign that the president was starting his bid for re-election in 2024.

Chuck Callesto, a Florida political strategist and former Candidate for Florida's 3rd Congressional District, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday saying: "BREAKING REPORT: [NOT PARODY] Joe Biden Has Officially Filed to RUN FOR RE-ELECTION in 2024..."

Voice of America's Steve Herman also wrote about the filing in a now-deleted tweet which claimed the procedure was evidence Biden was running for re-election.

The claim was also repeated by Russia's LIFE News, a news website owned by pro-Kremlin media tycoon Aram Gabrelyanov, who wrote that the filing of the form with the FEC was "evidence" that Biden was running with Kamala Harris again as his vice president. Multiple pro-Kremlin outlets and Telegram channels amplified the claim.

The Facts

The filing, which lists Harris as vice president and specifies that the office "sought" by Biden is that of the president, was sent to the FEC on August 26 and completed on August 30.

But what was interpreted by many as evidence of Biden's imminent re-election bid was actually a simple procedural move made necessary by a career change of one staff member, according to officials.

"This is not a re-election filing. This is just updating the form to change the treasurer name because the former treasurer is taking a government job," a party official quoted by The Independent and Fox News said, adding that the filing was merely routine.

As the filing—available on the FEC's website—shows, the form was signed off by the committee's treasurer Keana Spencer.

The same explanation was provided to Herman, who corrected his statement on Twitter saying he "misinterpreted the @fec filing and have deleted the tweet."

Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Democratic National Committee for comment.

The filing comes ahead of the president's delivery of a major prime-time speech in Philadelphia on Thursday, where, according to the White House, Biden will speak about "the continued battle for the soul of the nation"—words that echo the theme of his 2020 presidential campaign, when he told American voters his bid against Trump was a "battle for the soul of America."

The Ruling

False.

While the question over Biden's potential bid for re-election in 2024 remains open, despite the president's multiple statements hinting at his intention to run again in two years, it appears that the filing by Biden's campaign committee on August 30 does not amount to evidence of a re-election launch.

The campaign paperwork is, as confirmed by Democratic officials, a routine procedure triggered by staff changes that have nothing to do with the 2024 election.

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK