NBC News senior political analyst Jonathan Allen remarked Thursday that President Joe Biden sounded and looked “tired” during the first press conference of his administration.
Despite pledging transparency to the media, Biden went 64 days without holding a press conference since entering the White House.
The topic of immigration weighed heavily on the press conference, where Biden attempted to beat back the perception that his “nice guy” image was causing thousands of migrants to travel from South America to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I’d like to think it’s because I’m a nice guy but it’s not,” Biden told reporters. “The truth of the matter is, nothing has changed.”
“The reason they’re coming is that it’s the time they can travel with the least likelihood of dying on the way because of the heat in the desert, No 1. No. 2, they’re coming because of the circumstances in their country,” the president added.
This week, CBS News reported that the number of migrant children in U.S. custody has past 15,000, signalling that the border crisis continues to worsen.
The outlet further reported: “As of Saturday morning, more than 5,000 unaccompanied minors were being held in a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) tent holding facility in south Texas and other stations along the border with Mexico. According to the government records, unaccompanied children are spending an average of 136 hours in CBP custody, well beyond the 72-hour limit outlined in U.S. law.”
Later in the press conference, Biden, who turned 78-years-old in November, confirmed that he plans to run for reelection in 2024 with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate.
“The answer is yes,” the president responded when asked about his future political. “My plan is to run for reelection. That’s my expectation.”
Biden will be 82 years old in 2024.
“The way I view things, I’ve become a great respecter of fate in my life,” the president said. “I set a goal that’s in front of me to get things done for the people I care most about.”