President Joe Biden hasn't reached the midpoint of his first term in the White House; and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., just celebrated her 32nd birthday last October.
And yet, that hasn't stopped the speculation of Ocasio-Cortez potentially running for the nation's highest office in 2024 — upon reaching the presidential-eligible age of 35 years old in October 2024 (one month before the general election).
On Tuesday's episode of "The Late Show," CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert brazenly asked Ocasio-Cortez if she plans to run for president in two years, regardless of whether Biden pursues a second term as the incumbent.
With the audience clapping, Ocasio-Cortez initially feigned like another politician was coming out to the stage, before offering a vague response.
"Listen, I think that we need to focus on keeping a democracy for anybody to be president in the next couple of years, and that's my central focus is helping [the] people of this country," Ocasio-Cortez told Colbert, while exhibiting a wide grin.
Colbert countered with, "So it's possible. So it's possible?"
AOC then said, "I don't know about all that."
In previous months, dating back to Jen Psaki's time as press secretary, the White House has openly stated that President Biden fully intends to run again in 2024, at the age of 81.
It's worth noting: At 79, Biden's already the oldest president in U.S. history.
From a public standpoint, many prominent Democrats — including former DNC presidential nominee Hillary Clinton — have pledged to support President Biden two years from now, assuming he formally runs for reelection.
But that list might not include Ocasio-Cortez, who has resisted the opportunity to get behind Biden's presidential prospects in 2024.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," AOC told CNN earlier this month, before adding, "but I think if the president has a vision, and that's something certainly we're all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes."
David Axelrod, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama (2009-17), said it's natural for some to question Biden's fitness for another presidential term, given his age.
"The presidency is a monstrously taxing job, and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue," Axelrod recently told The New York Times.
Various media polls have President Biden's current job-approval numbers in the 42%-44% range, among the lowest commander-in-chief ratings of the last 50 years.
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