New Delhi: Joe Biden on Tuesday announced to run for reelection as the President of the United States. The 80-year-old Democrat, who is already the oldest US president ever, said that he is running for reelection in 2024 to stand up for democracy and fundamental freedoms. Biden made the announcement in a promotional video, less than three years after he defeated his predecessor Donald Trump.
Joe Biden’s campaign launch video promised to protect Americans’ personal freedoms, seizing a theme often heralded by Republicans, while attacking ‘MAGA extremists’ for targeting women’s reproductive choice, Social Security and voting rights.
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we’re in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Joe Biden said.
He added that this is not a time to be complacent and that’s why he is running for re-election.
His three-minute-long campaign launch video begins with images of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump, and draws stark contrasts between Biden’s vision for America and that of his Republican predecessor.
“Freedom – personal freedom – is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” Biden said in the video that kicks off his 2024 bid for a second term in the White House, exactly four years after he launched his 2020 campaign.
“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. That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job,” Joe Biden said in a tweet.
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.
That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job. https://t.co/V9Mzpw8Sqy pic.twitter.com/Y4NXR6B8ly
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2023
Biden will be joined in his 2024 quest by his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the two years since he took over from Trump, Joe Biden has won Congress’ approval for billions of dollars in federal funds to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and for new infrastructure, and oversaw the lowest levels of unemployment since 1969, although a 40-year high in inflation has marred his economic record.
His age, however, makes his re-election bid a historic and risky gamble for the Democratic Party, which faces a tough election map to hold the Senate in 2024 and is the minority in the House of Representatives now.
Biden’s approval ratings were stuck at just 39% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on April 19 and there are steep concerns about his age among some Americans. He 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 Biden, who reportedly does not drink alcohol and exercises five times a week, ‘fit for duty’ after an examination in February this year. The White House says his record shows that he is ‘mentally sharp enough’ for the rigors of the job.
Biden’s entry into the race follows Donald Trump’s announcement last November that he would seek a second term.