Joe Biden makes the call: he’s running for US presidency again
President Joe Biden is running for re-election in 2024, plunging at the record age of 80 into a ferocious White House campaign ‘to finish the job’.
President Joe Biden is running for re-election in 2024, plunging at the record age of 80 into a ferocious White House campaign “to finish the job”.
Vice-President Kamala Harris will again be his running mate, she announced at the same time on Tuesday night.
“Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy, to stand up for their fundamental freedoms. I believe this is ours, ” Mr Biden said in a video statement.
“That’s why I’m running for re-election as president of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job.”
After a series of big legislative wins and his marshaling of an unprecedented Western alliance to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion, Mr Biden has no real challenger from within the Democratic Party.
Yet in a campaign that may result in a rematch of the 2020 election against Donald Trump, he is expected to face constant and fierce scrutiny over his age.
The veteran Democrat would be 86 by the end of a second term. Even if a medical exam in February found him “fit” to execute the duties of the presidency, many including in his own voter base believe he is too old.
An NBC News poll released at the weekend found 70 per cent of Americans, including 51 per cent of Democrats, believe he should not run. Sixty-nine per cent of all respondents who said he shouldn’t run cited concerns over his age as a major or minor reason.
Mr Trump, despite becoming the first former or serving president to be criminally indicted – and facing probes into his attempt to overturn his loss to Mr Biden in 2020 – is the overwhelming Republican frontrunner.
On Monday, Mr Trump was quick to pitch in his own criticism of the man who defeated him last time around. “With such a calamitous and failed presidency, it is almost inconceivable that Biden would even think of running for re-election,” he said.
The Republican Party reacted to Mr Biden’s announcement by calling him “out of touch”.
“Biden is so out of touch that after creating crisis after crisis, he thinks he deserves another four years,” the Republican National Committee said in a statement.
Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms. I believe this is ours.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2023
That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job. https://t.co/V9Mzpw8Sqypic.twitter.com/Y4NXR6B8ly
“If voters let Biden ‘finish the job’, inflation will continue to skyrocket, crime rates will rise, more fentanyl will cross our open borders, children will continue to be left behind, and American families will be worse off.”
As in 2020, Mr Biden’s video message framed his election bid as a fight to save American democracy from Mr Trump and far-right Republicans. However, he also stressed his message of restoring an economy with heavy focus on the manufacturing base and jobs for the middle class.
Later on Tuesday, he was scheduled to deliver an economic address to a union conference being held in Washington.
While not a campaign event, the scheduled theme – “how his investing in America agenda is bringing manufacturing back, rebuilding the middle class, and creating good-paying union jobs” – was set to be at the heart of the Democrat’s 2024 message.
Mr Biden’s approval ratings have not topped 50 per cent for more than a year and a half.
However, supporters say the Democratic Party’s surprisingly strong performance in 2022 midterm congressional elections validated the Biden brand.
Tuesday’s announcement has put Ms Harris, 58, a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Ms Harris has been ridiculed throughout her tenure for alleged incompetence, but could find herself under more scrutiny, given her boss’s age or the possibility he could change his mind before the 2024 poll, leaving the deputy leader within grasp of the nomination.
Questions about the President’s physical and mental fitness, present from the start of his term, have intensified this year amid a series of stumbles.
Additional reporting: AFP
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