US President Joe Biden launched his re-election campaign on Tuesday with a pledge to defend American liberties from “extremists” associated with former president Donald Trump, whom he defeated in 2020 and could face again in 2024.
Biden made his announcement in a slickly produced video released by his new campaign team. Which begins with footage of the January 6, 2021 assault on the United States Capitol by Trump’s supporters.
Biden stated, “When I ran for president four years ago, I said that we are in a battle for the soul of America, and that is still true.” “Now is not the time for complacency. This is why I am seeking re-election.”
“Let’s complete this task. I have no doubt,” he said.
He characterized Republican platforms as threats to American liberties, pledged to oppose efforts to restrict women’s access to healthcare, cut Social Security, and ban books, and criticized “MAGA extremists.
MAGA is the acronym for Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. Trump is the early frontrunner in the Republican primary. If he is successful, he will face Biden again in the November 2024 election.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Monday found that 44% of Democrats believe Biden is too old to vie for re-election. Biden, who is 80 years old, must overcome these concerns to be re-elected.
Trump’s age, 76, is also a concern, as 35% of Republicans believe he is too elderly.
The majority of registered voters do not want either Biden or Trump to run again, according to the results of the survey.
Even though Biden’s approval rating is relatively low, his aides are confident that he can once again defeat Trump. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, he leads his Republican opponent by 43 percent to 38 percent among registered voters.
Biden’s campaign video took direct aim at Trump and his allies.
Biden stated, “Across the nation, MAGA extremists are lining up to attack these bedrock liberties, cutting social security that you’ve paid for your entire life, while cutting taxes for the extremely wealthy, dictating what healthcare decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people whom they can love, all while making it harder for you to vote.”
In the two years since he succeeded Trump, Biden has secured approval from Congress for billions of dollars in federal funds to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and for new infrastructure, and he has overseen the lowest unemployment rates since 1969, despite 40-year inflation highs.
Biden’s age makes his re-election campaign a historic and dangerous gamble for the Democratic Party, particularly if he confronts a much younger Republican candidate.
Democrats face a challenging electoral map in 2024 to retain Senate power.
Biden would be 86 by the end of a second term, almost a decade older than the typical American male.
Doctors judged Biden “fit for duty” after a February evaluation. According to the White House, his track record demonstrates that he is mentally fit for the rigors of the position.
Biden’s running companion for the 2024 election will be Vice President Kamala Harris. Who is prominently featured in his campaign video.
Trump matchup again?
In a statement regarding Biden’s candidature, Trump criticized the president’s record on immigration, inflation. And the disorderly 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The worst inflation in half a century has decimated American families. Trump stated on social media that banks are failing. “We have surrendered our energy independence, just like we did in Afghanistan,” he said.
Trump is on trial this week for allegedly raping E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
The former president, who is not compelled to attend the trial, has denied committing a sexual assault against Carroll.
As an incumbent, Biden is unlikely to encounter significant opposition from within his party.
No senior Democrats have shown signs of challenging him, and he has assembled a campaign advisory council of rising-star Democrats, including Illinois and Pennsylvania governors JB Pritzker and Josh Shapiro.
Potential and declared Republican presidential candidates have begun to frame the 2024 election in terms of reducing government expenditure in the face of persistently high inflation, restricting abortion, crime in Democratic-controlled cities, and illegal immigration.
Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the two leading Republican candidates, want to restrict transgender children’s access to sports teams and gender-affirming medical care, as well as how schools teach LGBTQ+ issues and America’s history of slavery and racial disparities.
Not a 2020 summary
Biden ran a largely virtual campaign to defeat Trump in the 2020 election, claiming he wanted to unify the country, restore the economy, and better control the virus as Covid rampaged.
In 2024, pandemic limits in the US will be abolished, making the race more physical.
Trump falsely claimed extensive election fraud after losing by seven million votes to Biden in 2020.
His supporters invaded the US Capitol in support of his claims on January 6, 2021. But they were unable to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
Biden’s campaign video suggests that, between now and the next election, he will frequently remind voters of these occurrences.
Other possible Biden themes include strong US support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and, according to the White House, Republican plans to dismantle the federal healthcare system.
