Reporter: How Is the White House Preparing for Trump’s 2024 Announcement? KJP: “Not Our Focus”; Biden “Intends to Run”

On 11/7/2022, the day before the midterm elections, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre how the administration was preparing for former President Trump’s expected 2024 announcement — widely reported to come within weeks. KJP brushed off the question: “That’s not our focus. It is just what the former president does or doesn’t do.” When asked about pressure on Biden to make his own “final decision” about 2024, KJP repeated the familiar formulation: “The president intends to run, and I will just leave those words there.” The exchange captured the asymmetric relationship between the two men who would dominate the 2024 election: Trump actively preparing a campaign announcement while Biden’s team stuck to “intends to run” without commitment.

”Speculation That Former President Trump Could Announce”

The reporter laid out the imminent political reality. “I’m sure you have seen there’s a lot of speculation that former President Trump could announce he’s running for president again in 2024 in the coming days, in the coming weeks, sometime this month,” the reporter said. “How is the White House — how is the president preparing for that announcement? What type of a reaction or responsibility?”

By November 2022, Trump’s 2024 announcement was essentially confirmed in everything but timing. He had been hinting at a run throughout the year, had stacked endorsements of loyal candidates for the midterms, and had made clear that announcing before the midterm elections was only a question of political optimization. Most political observers expected the announcement to come within days of Election Day.

The reporter’s question was legitimate: how was the White House preparing for the most significant political event of the coming year? A former president — the only living former president from the opposing party — was about to formally begin a campaign to retake the White House. That announcement would reshape the political landscape, dominate media coverage, and create new challenges for Biden’s communication strategy.

”Not Our Focus”

KJP’s dismissal was characteristically brief. “Again, I was asked this question the other day, and that’s not our focus. We’re just not — it is just what the former president does or doesn’t do. It’s not something that we are focused on from here,” KJP said.

The “not our focus” framing was plausible as official policy — the White House shouldn’t be openly strategizing about a political opponent — but strained credulity as an accurate description. The entire Biden midterm message had been built around Trump: “MAGA Republicans” as a threat to democracy, the Independence Hall speech calling out Trump’s influence on the Republican Party, and constant references to the 2020 election. The White House was intensely focused on Trump — they just couldn’t say so publicly because of Hatch Act restrictions and presidential decorum.

The refusal to acknowledge that the administration was preparing for Trump’s announcement also raised questions about operational readiness. If the White House genuinely wasn’t thinking about Trump’s return to the campaign trail, that would represent a failure of political planning. The more likely explanation was that preparation was underway but couldn’t be discussed from the podium.

”24 Hours Out”

A reporter then asked about Biden’s own decision. “How much pressure does President Biden, since we are now 24 hours out, feel to make that final decision about whether he’s going to run again?” the reporter asked.

The “24 hours out” reference was to the midterm elections — Biden had repeatedly said he would make a final 2024 decision after the midterms. The reporter was essentially asking: the deadline is tomorrow; how’s the thinking going?

KJP’s response was her most-used formulation on the 2024 question. “Again, I’m going to say what he has said many times, and what I have said from here many times, is that the president intends to run, and I will just leave those words there,” KJP said.

“Intends to run” was carefully chosen language. It was stronger than “thinking about running” but weaker than “will run” or “plans to run.” “Intends” conveyed direction without commitment — Biden was leaning toward running, but the decision wasn’t final. The qualifier allowed Biden to maintain maximum flexibility while discouraging potential Democratic primary challengers who might be considering their own campaigns.

The Asymmetric Comparison

The exchange revealed the asymmetry between Trump’s and Biden’s approaches to 2024:

Trump’s posture: Actively preparing a campaign launch. Holding rallies. Endorsing candidates. Building infrastructure. Expected to announce formally within weeks. Confident, decisive, campaign-ready.

Biden’s posture: “Intends to run.” Waiting until after the midterms. Refusing to commit publicly. Letting surrogates handle questions. Hedging in interviews. Admitting his continuation depended on health (“hope to God”).

The contrast reflected real differences in the two men’s political situations. Trump was 76 (four years younger than Biden) and had faced his own questions about energy and cognition, but he was actively campaigning and generating enthusiasm among his base. Biden was 79, facing persistent questions about age and capacity, and was visibly deferring decisions that required commitment.

The asymmetry also reflected Democratic Party anxiety. Biden’s low approval ratings, widespread concerns about his age, and the preference many Democrats expressed for a younger nominee created pressure that Trump didn’t face within his own party. Trump’s base was enthusiastic about him running; Biden’s base was ambivalent.

The “I Will Leave Those Words There”

KJP’s closing line — “I will just leave those words there” — was a classic verbal closure technique. By treating “intends to run” as a complete answer that needed no elaboration, KJP shut down follow-up questions about what “intends” meant, when a final decision would come, or what factors Biden was weighing.

The technique was effective at ending questions but ineffective at communicating commitment. A president planning to run for reelection typically generated excitement, not deflection. The fact that Biden’s team was still using hedging language — and explicitly refusing to elaborate — suggested the internal deliberation was more complicated than the public messaging indicated.

What Came Next

The day after this briefing, the midterms produced better-than-expected results for Democrats — holding the Senate, losing the House by a narrower margin than predicted. The strong performance was attributed to abortion, democracy concerns, and weak Republican candidates rather than to Biden’s economic message.

Trump announced his 2024 campaign on November 15, 2022 — eight days after the midterms. Biden did not announce until April 25, 2023 — more than five months later. The delay reflected continued internal deliberation about whether to run, questions about potential Democratic primary challengers, and the hope that time would improve Biden’s political position.

When Biden finally announced, his rollout was notably muted — a video launch rather than a large rally, limited press interaction, and a tone more of acknowledgment than enthusiasm. The hedging that characterized KJP’s “intends to run” formulation in November 2022 continued even after Biden formally committed to the race.

Key Takeaways

A reporter asked how the White House was preparing for Trump’s expected 2024 announcement; KJP said “that’s not our focus.”
The claim strained credibility given that Biden’s entire midterm message was built around Trump and “MAGA Republicans.”
On Biden’s own 2024 plans, KJP repeated “the president intends to run” and “I will just leave those words there.”
“Intends to run” was weaker than “will run” — conveying direction without commitment, preserving flexibility.
Trump announced November 15, 2022 (eight days after midterms); Biden waited until April 25, 2023 — more than five months later.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

There’s a lot of speculation that former President Trump could announce he’s running for president again in 2024 in the coming days.
How is the White House preparing for that announcement?
That’s not our focus. It is just what the former president does or doesn’t do.
How much pressure does President Biden, since we are now 24 hours out, feel to make that final decision?
I’m going to say what he has said many times — the president intends to run.
I will just leave those words there.

Full transcript: 161 words transcribed via Whisper AI.