'Can't Give a Yes or No': NYT Publishes Evasive Nadler, Maloney Interviews on Biden Second Term

US President Joe Biden may not have formally announced his 2024 White House bid, but several House Democrats who are running for reelection this year have either refused to back him as a potential candidate or refrained from offering a definite answer when asked.

Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), set to face off in the 12th Congressional District member-on-member primary in New York on August 23, have offered "conflicting" responses on whether Joe Biden should run for reelection, The New York Times has revealed.

On Saturday, the outlet published its editorial board’s interviews with the two House committee chairs, showing them attempting to dodge giving a straightforward response regarding the prospect of a Biden second term.

When asked on July 26 whether he thought Biden should throw his hat in the ring in 2024, New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said:

“… I can’t give a yes or no answer. I’ll simply say to that, I think the interests of the Democratic Party and the country are best served by waiting till after the midterms before we begin discussing that.”

As for Carolyn Maloney, in an interview on August 1, she first asked if her comments on Joe Biden would be off the record. Upon receiving confirmation that she was asked to speak "on the record," the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform said:

“On the record? No, he should not run again.”

The NYT published the two interviews on the same day as its editorial board announced it would be endorsing Nadler over Maloney in the Democratic primary.

Previously, the Manhattan reps effectively U-turned on the issue, expressing enthusiastic support for President Joe Biden’s reelection during a debate on August 9.

“I am supporting Joe Biden. He has announced that he is running,” Maloney said in the appearance hosted by Nexstar station PIX11 and Hunter College in New York City. The congresswoman touted Biden’s legislative achievements, such as the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the Senate.

Nadler similarly offered words of encouragement for Joe Biden when asked whether the 79-year-old Democrat should be the nominee in 2024, saying, “Absolutely.”

“He should be the Democratic nominee, and he should be reelected president. He’s done a magnificent job,” Nadler said.

The remarks were in stark contrast to what was said in the previous match-up between Nadler and Maloney. The two declined to endorse the 46th US president at their primary debate on August 2.

Nadler declined to say whether he believed Biden should run in 2024, while Maloney said, “I don’t believe he’s running for reelection.”

However, post-debate, Nadler issued a statement saying he was supportive of the president and Maloney also said she would support a second Biden White House bid.

Maloney went even further, issuing an apology to Biden on CNN, saying:

“Mr. President, I apologize. I want you to run. I happen to think you won’t be running, but when you run or if you run, I will be there 100 percent.”

Joe Biden, who has yet to formally announce his reelection bid for 2024, has repeatedly voiced the intention to run again, despite reports of a majority of Democrats wanting someone else to be the party’s presidential nominee in two years.

Furthermore, there is believed to be growing restlessness among top donors and even longtime Biden supporters ahead of the November midterms, as Biden’s approval ratings have hit ever-new lows.

Around 7 in 10 Americans (71%) said they did not want Biden to run for president again in a recent Quinnipiac University national poll. Meanwhile, a Des Moines Register Iowa survey conducted by pollster J. Ann Selzer showed that two-thirds of Iowans (67%) hoped that Biden would not run again in 2024, with the figure including a majority (52%) of Democrats.