Joe Biden brushed aside questions about his age on Wednesday after announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, while stressing that his potential Republican rival, Donald Trump, is a “danger” to American democracy, AFP reported.

“I feel fine,” the 80-year-old Democratic president said when asked about his age during a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, at the White House.

“I’m excited about that prospect,” Biden said. “What happens in the next two, three, four years will determine what the next decade will look like,” he added.

Trump, “a danger to democracy”

Asked about 76-year-old Donald Trump, Biden joked: “I know him well and I know the danger he poses to our democracy.”

“I’ve been through it all before,” he noted.

Joe Biden announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election on Tuesday, promising to restore “dignity” to the American working class.

If the democrat has shown unusual resilience, juggling international crises and major reforms, his main disadvantage remains age.

Never before had Americans elected such an old president, and never before had a candidate asked them to let him hold the keys to the White House until he was 86.

Increasing the state debt ceiling

Raising the debt ceiling is “non-negotiable”, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday, as the Republican majority in the House of Representatives hopes to pass legislation that would tie the ceiling increase to government spending cuts.

“I would be happy to meet with (House Speaker) McCarthy, but not on whether to raise the debt ceiling or not. This is non-negotiable,” he said.