Joe Biden hinted at the possibility of running for re-election when honouring Bruce Springsteen and other figures from the arts and entertainment industry at the White House this week.
The US President was speaking at the National Medal of the Arts ceremony on Tuesday (March 21), where author Colson Whitehead, singer Gladys Knight, actor Mindy Kaling and designer Vera Wang were among honourees.
When presenting to Whitehead, who has won back-to-back Pulitzer Prizes, the president said: “How in the hell did you do that? Pretty good man,” before saying that he was “kind of looking for a back-to-back myself”.
Biden has not officially announced his bid for re-election for 2024, but is expected to do so in the coming weeks.
The medals at this week’s ceremony were awarded to people who deepened the country’s “understanding of the humanities and broadened our citizen’s engagement with history, literature, philosophy and so many other subjects.”
“Above all, you’re masters of your craft,” Biden said (via ABC News).
Springsteen received a medal for “his extraordinary contributions to the American songbook”. Biden quipped that “some people are born to run” when honouring the US rock icon, a reference to The Boss’ 1975 song ‘Born To Run’ from his third studio album of the same name.
“Bruce Springsteen, a poet troubadour, chronicler of American life and resilience and hope and dreams, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, along with 20 Grammys, an Oscar, a Tony, and an unyielding love from millions of fans across generations,” Biden said.
Last month, Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off first tour in six years. They are continuing with the US leg until mid-April, before moving on to Europe.
They will be playing four UK dates in total, in Edinburgh, Birmingham and two shows in London as part of the BST Hyde Park series.
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