‘YAY! Strike Up The Band!’ Mika and Joe Scarborough Celebrate Biden’s Pseudo 2024 Announcement

Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski celebrated President Joe Biden’s non-announcement announcement that he plans on running for reelection in 2024, exclaiming “YAY!” and “Strike up the band!”

The president set tongues wagging Monday by having an exchange with NBC’s Al Roker about his plans to run for reelection:

AL ROKER: Are you saying that you would be taking part in our upcoming election in 2024? Help a brother out, make some news for me.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: I plan on running, Al, but we’re not prepared to announce it yet.

On Tuesday morning’s edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the duo introduced the exchange excitedly, then explained why Biden is waiting to announce, and asked former Sen. Claire McCaskill if the delay could hurt fundraising:

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: President Biden says he plans to run for reelection next year.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Strike up the band!

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: YAY! He made the comments to NBC’s Al Roker during yesterday’s White House Easter Egg Roll.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: We’re good! He’s running.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well but the thing is, he says he’s not sure yet, Willie. And there are Democrats who are ready for him to announce because they say their little things like raising money that he needs to start doing now. So they’re they’re afraid that if you wait until July, it’s going to be well, he’s just, he’s going to have a slower start than he needs to have.

WILLIE GEIST: Yeah, the timeline is not exactly clear. Most people believe there’s a 99% chance that he is going to announce, as he sort of indicated to Al there. So the question is why the wait, and Claire McCaskill I put that question to you, and what is the significance? Maybe in his mind, he says, I’ve got some time here. I don’t you know, it’s, what are we in April of 2023, if I’m going to do it, I’ve got time to make it official. What is the impact, though, of waiting a little while here, if there is any?

CLAIRE MCCASKILL: I don’t think there is a huge impact. There’s not going to be a primary. If it is, it’s going to be something that’s not a significant challenge to the president.

And he will have the ability to raise plenty of money because there is going to be a sideshow called the Republican primary. That’s going to remind a lot of low donors around the country what’s at stake. And they’re going to give five, ten, 20 bucks over and over again once the election really joins. And I think he will have plenty of money to get his word out.

And keep in mind, the most powerful platform for running for office is the White House. Now, he will not use the White House the way the other guy did, where he inappropriately broke norms and campaigned from the White House, did political rallies from the White House.

Joe Biden will not do that. He has too much respect for the office, but he still will have that powerful, powerful bully pulpit, which is the presidency, that will be his best friend for the coming months as he runs for reelection.

Biden has made similar comments on many occasions since he first explained the delay in formally announcing a reelection bid — weeks before the last election.

Watch above via MSNBC’s Morning Joe.