President Joe Biden said Monday that he would let people know “real soon” about his reelection plans – stopping short of announcing another run during a White House ceremony honoring the 2023 Teacher of the Year recipients.
Asked by reporters about his reelection plans, Biden responded: “I told you I’m planning on running. I’ll let you know real soon.”
The president’s comments come amid heightened speculation that he could announce his campaign for reelection as soon as this week.
During Monday’s Rose Garden ceremony, Biden called teaching a “difficult position that has gotten even harder,” zeroing-in on Republicans’ approach to education and gun safety. The president has used his administration’s executive authority to attempt to counter the growing number of conservative education-related policy efforts that have ignited cultural debate around the country in recent years – something he highlighted during Monday’s event.
Biden scrutinized Republican efforts across the country to target LGBT students and teachers, saying, “Our schools should be places where everyone is safe and safe to be themselves … but across the country of late from some of our friends on the extreme right, LGBT students and teachers are under attack from hateful laws.”
He also criticized efforts to ban certain books from schools and libraries, saying that “empty shelves don’t help kids learn very much.”
“I never thought, as a student of history, I never thought I’d be a president whose fighting against elected officials trying to ban and banning books,” Biden said. “I’ve never met a parent wants a politician dictating what their kid can learn and what they can think, or who they can be.”
He said “teachers now find themselves on the front lines, and gun violence is a real problem.”
“We…
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