WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to 鈥渇inish this job鈥 and extend the run of America鈥檚 oldest president for another four years.
Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party鈥檚 nomination, with no serious Democratic challengers. But he鈥檚 still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation.
In his first public appearance Tuesday since the announcement, Biden offered a preview of how he plans to navigate the dual roles of president and presidential candidate, using a speech to building trades union members to highlight his accomplishments and undercut his GOP rivals, while showing voters he remained focused on his day job.
Greeted with chants of 鈥淟et's Go Joe鈥 from a raucous crowd of building trades union members 鈥 a key base of Democratic support 鈥 Biden showcased the tens of thousands of construction jobs being created since he took office that are supported by legislation he signed into law.
鈥淲e 鈥 you and I 鈥 together we鈥檙e turning things around and we鈥檙e doing it in a big way,鈥 Biden said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to finish the job. Finish the job.鈥
Biden's campaign announcement, in , comes on the four-year anniversary of when he in 2019, promising to heal the 鈥渟oul of the nation鈥 amid 鈥 a goal that has remained elusive.
鈥淚 said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are," Biden said. 鈥淭he question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.鈥
While the prospect of seeking reelection has been a given for most modern presidents, that鈥檚 not always been the case for Biden. A has indicated they would prefer he not run, in part because of his age. Biden has called those concerns but he did not address the issue head-on in his launch video.
Yet few things have unified Democratic voters like the prospect of Trump returning to power. And Biden鈥檚 political standing within his party stabilized after Democrats notched a stronger-than-expected performance in The president is set to run again on the same themes that buoyed his party last fall, particularly on preserving .
鈥淔reedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There鈥檚 nothing more important. Nothing more sacred,鈥 Biden said in the launch video, depicting Republican extremists as trying to roll back access to abortion, , limit voting rights and they disagree with. 鈥淎round the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away.鈥
As the contours of the campaign begin to take shape, Biden plans to run on his record. He spent his first two years as president combating the coronavirus pandemic and pushing through major bills such as and legislation to promote high-tech manufacturing and climate measures.
The president also has multiple policy goals and unmet promises from his first campaign that he鈥檚 asking voters to give him another chance to fulfill.
鈥淟et鈥檚 finish this job. I know we can,鈥 Biden said in the video, repeating a mantra he said a dozen times during his in February.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was featured prominently alongside Biden in the video, held a political rally at Howard University in Washington on Tuesday evening in support of abortion access, kicking off her own efforts to support the reelection effort.
Saying she鈥檚 鈥減roud to run for reelection with President Joe Biden," Harris added, 鈥淥ur hard-won freedoms are under attack. And this is a moment for us to stand and fight.鈥
In the video, Biden speaks over brief clips and photographs of key moments in his presidency, snapshots of diverse Americans and flashes of outspoken Republican foes, including Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. He exhorts supporters that 鈥渢his is our moment鈥 to 鈥渄efend democracy. Stand up for our personal freedoms. Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights.鈥
Biden also plans to point to his work over the past two years shoring up American alliances, leading a global coalition to support Ukraine鈥檚 defenses against Russia鈥檚 invasion and . But public support in the U.S. for Ukraine has softened in recent months, and some voters question the tens of billions of dollars in flowing to Kyiv.
The president also faces lingering criticism over his administration's after nearly 20 years of war, which undercut the image of competence he aimed to portray, and he's the target of GOP attacks over his immigration and economic policies.
As a candidate in 2020, Biden pitched voters on his familiarity with the halls of power in Washington and his relationships around the world. But even back then, he was acutely aware of voters鈥 concerns about his age.
鈥淟ook, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,鈥 Biden said in March 2020, as he campaigned in Michigan with younger Democrats, including Harris, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.鈥
Three years later, the president now 80, Biden allies say his time in office has demonstrated that he saw himself as more of a transformational than a transitional leader.
Still, many Democrats would prefer that Biden didn鈥檛 run again. A from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows just 47% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, up from 37% in February. And Biden鈥檚 verbal 鈥 and occasional physical 鈥 stumbles have become fodder for critics trying to cast him as unfit for office.
During in February, Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O鈥機onnor, declared him 鈥渉ealthy, vigorous鈥 and 鈥渇it鈥 to handle his White House responsibilities.
Hours after Biden's announcement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre initially refused to say whether the president planned to serve all eight years if elected to a second term. She later clarified by tweet that "I wanted to be sure that I didn鈥檛 go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law. But I can confirm that if re-elected, @POTUS would serve all 8 years."
Aides acknowledge that while some in his party might prefer an alternative to Biden, there is anything but consensus within their diverse coalition on who that might be. And they insist that when Biden is compared with whomever the GOP nominates, Democrats and independents will rally around Biden.
For now, the 76-year-old Trump is the favorite to emerge as the Republican nominee, creating the potential of a historic sequel to . But Trump faces significant hurdles of his own, including the designation of being the first former president to . The remaining GOP field is volatile, with DeSantis emerging as an early alternative to Trump. DeSantis' stature is also in question, however, amid questions about his readiness to campaign outside of his increasingly Republican-leaning state.
To prevail again, Biden will need the alliance of young voters and Black voters 鈥 particularly women 鈥 along with blue-collar Midwesterners, moderates and disaffected Republicans who helped him win in 2020. He'll have to again carry in the Upper Midwest, while protecting his position in Georgia and Arizona, longtime GOP strongholds he narrowly won last time.
Biden spoke Tuesday with Democratic governors about his reelection plans, while aides and allies briefed key political groups, grassroots organizers and state party officials on strategy, his campaign said. The president was set to huddle later this week in Washington with prominent party donors.
Biden鈥檚 reelection bid comes as the nation weathers uncertain economic crosscurrents. after hitting the highest rate in a generation, but unemployment is at a 50-year low, and the economy is showing signs of resilience despite Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
鈥淚f voters let Biden 鈥榝inish the job,鈥 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,鈥 Republican 好色tv Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.
Presidents typically try to delay their reelection announcements to maintain the advantages of incumbency and skate above the political fray for as long as possible while their rivals trade jabs. But the leg up offered by being in the White House can be rickety 鈥 three of the last seven presidents have lost reelection, most recently Trump in 2020.
Biden鈥檚 announcement is roughly consistent with the timeline followed by then-President Barack Obama, who waited until April 2011 to declare for a second term and didn't hold a reelection rally until May 2012. Trump launched his reelection bid on the day he was sworn in in 2017.
On Tuesday, Biden named White House adviser to serve as campaign manager and who ran Sen. Raphael Warnock's reelection campaign in Georgia last year, to serve as principal deputy campaign manager. The campaign co-chairs will be Reps. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, Jim Clyburn and Veronica Escobar; Sens. Chris Coons and Tammy Duckworth; entertainment mogul and Democratic mega-donor Jeffrey Katzenberg; and Whitmer.
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AP writer Chris Megerian contributed.
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