Biden launches 2024 reelection campaign

BLOOMBERG

President Joe Biden formally announced that he would seek reelection in 2024, readying a historic campaign against a Republican field dominated by his predecessor while economic uncertainty clouds his case for a second term.
Biden, 80, implored voters to let him “finish this job” he began when he took office and put aside any worries about his age. He said there is still work to do to give Americans a “fair shot” and beat back “extremists” in the Republican Party who want to cut government spending.
“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom,” Biden said in a video. “I know what I want the answer to be and I think you do too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.”
Already the oldest person ever elected US president, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term and faces intense scrutiny about his fitness to serve another four years in the White House. His kick-off message shows he is betting that voters will reward him for his decades of experience and record, while looking past age concerns.
Biden had long said he intended to seek a second term, making the official announcement somewhat of a foregone conclusion. He hadn’t felt pressure to declare his candidacy earlier because he faced no serious opposition for the Democratic Party’s nomination, his advisers said, even though polls showed large numbers of Democrats prefer he not run again in part because of his age.
The Democrats’ better-than-expected performance in the November midterm elections quieted talk of a significant primary challenge. Former President Donald Trump, who has galvanised Democrats, has emerged as the clear GOP frontrunner, further bolstering Biden’s case to run again.
Biden’s reelection run will stand in stark contrast to his experience in 2020, when his campaign faltered before Democrats came to believe he was best suited to defeat Trump and coalesced around him. He then drastically curbed in-person events because of the coronavirus pandemic.