WASHINGTON听–听President Joe听叠颈诲别苍听launched his re-election bid on Tuesday with a promise to protect American liberties from “extremists” linked to former President Donald听罢谤耻尘辫, who he beat in 2020 and might face again in听2024.
Mr. Biden聽made his announcement聽 released by his new campaign team that opens with imagery from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by听罢谤耻尘辫‘s supporters.
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we’re in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Mr. Biden聽said. “This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m听谤耻苍ning for re-election.”
“Let’s finish this job. I know we can,” he said.
He described Republican platforms as threats to American freedoms, vowed to听蹿颈驳丑迟听efforts to limit women’s healthcare, cut Social Security and ban books, and blasted “MAGA extremists.”
MAGA is the acronym for the “Make America Great Again” slogan of听罢谤耻尘辫, who is the early frontrunner in the Republican primary race. If he wins, he will face off against听叠颈诲别苍听again in the November听2024聽election.
Mr. Biden,听80, must overcome Americans’ concerns about his age in order to win re-election, with 44% of Democrats saying he is too old to听谤耻苍,听听蹿辞耻苍诲.
Mr. Trump, 76, also faces concerns about his age with 35% of Republicans saying he is too old.
The poll showed that a majority of registered voters don’t want either Mr. Biden聽or Mr. Trump聽to听谤耻苍聽again.
While Mr. Biden‘s approval rating is relatively low, his aides are confident he can beat听罢谤耻尘辫聽again. The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed him with a lead of 43% to 38% over his Republican rival among registered voters.
In his campaign video, Mr. Biden聽squarely targeted Mr. Trump聽and his allies.
“Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms, cutting Social Security that you paid for your entire life, while cutting taxes for the very wealthy, dictating what healthcare decisions women can make, banning books, and tell people who they can love, all while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote,” Mr. Biden聽said.
In the two years since he took over from Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden聽won Congress鈥 approval for billions of dollars in federal funds to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and for new infrastructure, and oversaw the聽聽since 1969, although a 40-year inflation highs have marred his economic record.
Speaking to a meeting of North America’s Building Trades Unions on Tuesday,听叠颈诲别苍听said his economic plan was working but there is “more to do.” Mr. Biden聽listed his policy achievements and the crowd chanted “four more years!”
Mr. Biden‘s age听尘补办别蝉听his re-election bid a historic and risky gamble for the Democratic Party, especially if he faces a much younger Republican candidate.
Democrats already face a tough election map to hold the Senate in听2024聽and is the minority in the House of Representatives now.
Mr. Biden聽would be 86 by the end of a prospective second term, almost a decade higher than the average US male’s life expectancy.
Doctors declared Mr. Biden, who does not drink alcohol and exercises five times a week, “fit for duty” after an聽. The White House says his record shows that he is mentally sharp enough for the rigors of the job.
Mr. Biden聽will be joined in his听2024聽quest by his听谤耻苍ning mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is featured prominently in his campaign video.
罢搁鲍惭笔听MATCHUP AGAIN?
In a statement about听叠颈诲别苍‘s candidacy, Mr. Trump聽criticized the president over his record on immigration, inflation, and the chaotic US pullout from Afghanistan in 2021.
“American families are being decimated by the worst inflation in half a century. Banks are failing,” Mr. Trump聽said on his social media platform. “We have surrendered our energy independence, just like we surrendered in Afghanistan,” he said.
Marking a sharp contrast to Mr. Biden‘s campaign announcement, Mr. Trump聽聽in a civil lawsuit this week over writer E. Jean Carroll’s accusation that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
The former president, who is not required to attend the trial, has denied raping Ms. Carroll.
Mr. Biden聽is unlikely to face much competition from inside his party. No senior Democrats have shown signs of challenging him.
Potential and declared Republican听辫谤别蝉颈诲别苍迟颈补濒听candidates have begun framing the听2024聽election around cutting back government spending amid still-high inflation,听, crime in Democratic-谤耻苍听cities and illegal immigration.
The two leading Republican contenders,听罢谤耻尘辫聽and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, want to limit the access of transgender children to sports teams and gender-affirming medical care, and restrict how schools teach LGBTQ+ issues and America’s history of race.
During a briefing with reporters, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre at first declined to answer a question about whether听叠颈诲别苍听would serve out another four-year term if re-elected.
“I wanted to be sure that I didn’t go into听2024聽more than is appropriate under the law,” she wrote later on Twitter. “But I can confirm that if re-elected, (Biden) would serve all 8 years.”
Mr. Biden聽ran a mostly virtual campaign to defeat听罢谤耻尘辫聽in the 2020 election as COVID raged.
With pandemic restrictions mostly over in the United States, the听2024聽race is likely to be聽, more physical affair.
After losing to Mr. Biden聽in 2020,听罢谤耻尘辫聽refused to concede defeat, falsely claiming that there had been widespread electoral fraud.
His supporters stormed the US Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of his claims but they failed to halt certification by Congress of Mr. Biden‘s win.
Mr. Biden‘s campaign video suggests he plans to regularly remind voters of those events between now and the next election.
Other Mr. Biden聽themes may include strong US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and what the White House says are Republican plans to unravel federal healthcare. – Reuters
