United States President Joe Biden has announced his re-election bid in 2024, according to a video campaign online.
“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,” Biden captioned on Facebook, along with a video.
“That’s why I’m running for re-election as president of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job,” he added.
After a series of big legislative wins and momentous foreign policy struggles in his first two years in office, Biden has no real challenger from within the Democratic Party.
But 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.
Biden who is now 80 years old, 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.
According to an NBC News poll over the weekend, 70 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of Democrats, believe he should not run, with 69 percent of all respondents who said he shouldn’t run stated concerns over his age as a major or minor reason.
Meanwhile, Biden addressed those concerns by saying, “watch me,” which means that voters should focus on his policy wins at home and his marshalling of an unprecedented Western alliance to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
Over the next year and a half, Biden will have all the advantages of incumbency, backed by a united party, while Republicans are only just starting a messy primary season.
On the other hand, Trump, the Republican frontrunner criticized Biden’s re-election bid saying, “With such a calamitous and failed presidency, it is almost inconceivable that Biden would even think of running for re-election.”
