Biden, Harris officially announce 2024 reelection bid
President Biden formally announced his bid for re-election Tuesday, asking voters to give him another four years as America’s oldest president to help him “finish the job” despite plunging support.
“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,” the 80-year-old president tweeted early Tuesday.
“That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job.”
Biden — who would be 86 at the end of a full second term — launched his bid for a second term on the four-year anniversary of the date he announced his successful 2020 run for the White House.
Reprising the theme of that campaign, the president posted a three-plus minute video claiming his run was part of a “battle for the soul of America” against “MAGA extremists.”
The promo ended with the campaign’s “Biden-Harris” logo, making clear the president will run again alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, who featured heavily in the video.
However, Biden’s announcement came in the face of overwhelming evidence that Americans want him to be a one-and-done commander-in-chief.
A NBC News poll released Sunday showed that 70% of Americans did not want the president to stand for re-election, while only 60% said the same of former President Donald Trump.
More ominously for Biden, the same poll showed that if he is the Democrats’ 2024 standard-bearer, only 21% of Americans would definitely vote for him — while 39% said they would definitely vote for the Republican candidate. Including leaners, Biden trailed the GOP nominee 47% to 41% in the popular vote.
In February, an AP-NORC poll showed that merely 12% of Democrats believe Biden should be the party’s leader, though respondents were split over who, exactly should take his place.
In the same month, 59% of Democrats polled by Reuters/Ipsos agreed the phrase “Joe Biden is too old to work in government” best described the president.
Meanwhile, the RealClearPolitics polling average showed Biden’s favorability rating stuck on 41.3% — the exact same as former President Donald Trump’s at this point in his term of office
Just hours before the announcement, Trump — who announced his own bid for a second non-consecutive term Nov. 15 — said that it was “inconceivable” that Biden, whom he called the “most corrupt president in American history” would run again.
“You could take the five worst presidents in American history, and put them together, and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our Nation in just a few short years. Not even close,” said Trump, 76.
“With such a calamitous and failed presidency, it is almost inconceivable that Biden would even think of running for reelection.”
Biden clearly made his announcement with Trump in mind as he took aim at “extremists” supporting his rival’s “Make America Great Again” platform.
His video announcement featured images of Trump, as well as another expected Republican candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Freedom,” Biden said earnestly at the start of the video. “Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred.
“That’s been the work of my first term — to fight for democracy. To protect our rights,” he claimed.
“But you know, around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away,” he said, before reciting a list of supposed GOP positions including “cutting Social Security,” rolling back women’s right to an abortions and “banning books and telling people who they can love.”
“All while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote,” he alleged.
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America — and we still are,” Biden went on.
“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.
“This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection. Because I know America,” he said.
“Stand up for our personal freedom. Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights,” Biden said later in the video to upbeat music.
“Let’s finish this job — I know we can. This is the United States of America — there’s nothing, simply nothing we cannot do if we do it together.”
Despite his disastrous levels of support in polls and scathing attacks on his record, Biden appears to face a smooth path to winning his party’s renomination, with no serious Democratic rivals emerging.
Doctors have also insisted that the oldest-ever US president, who does not drink alcohol and exercises five times a week, is “fit for duty” after a physical examination in February.
Despite numerous stumbles and gaffes, the White House claims his record shows that he is mentally sharp enough for the rigors of the job.
Still, his age makes his re-election bid a historic gamble.
With Post wires
