JB was down in the U.S. Virgin Islands Friday ahead of the new year, and when a crush of reporters peppered him with questions about officially throwing his hat in the ring for 2024 -- something he's said he intends to do, but noting he still needed to talk it over with family.

Those talks were supposed to happen around this time of the year, which is why his response down St. Croix is interesting ... Joe sure seems to be in good spirits about the prospect of gunning for POTUS again, so much so that he's oozing with sarcasm.

Check it out ... the Prez says he wasn't aware there's an election coming up, obviously kidding. His grin is pretty telling though -- because it's backed by what CNN's Kevin Liptak says is a firm yes from Joe's camp. Namely, Joe Biden is, in fact, going to enter the race.

We haven't seen any confirming reports mirroring what Liptak's saying here -- but if true, it's obviously huge. There's been rumblings within the Democratic Party that top dogs want Joe to bow out and let someone younger take a crack at a presidential campaign against Trump.

Joe's first two years in office have been somewhat of a mixed bag (some good and bad) but if he is actually joining the fray again, that means he's confident he's got a shot.