Joe Biden officially launched the election campaign by running for a second term as US President. Although the 80-year-old is not the only candidate running for the Democrats, there are no prominent competitors in his party with serious prospects of success.
Ex-President Donald Trump took a position with the Republicans in November. The competition in his party is much greater, but the 76-year-old leads in internal party polls. So in the 2024 presidential election it could again be a duel between Biden and Trump. Enthusiasm about this is limited in the USA.
Age is a political issue
Biden announced yesterday on Twitter that he would run again in the November 2024 election. He had won the 2020 presidential election against then-incumbent Trump and moved into the White House in January 2021 as the oldest president ever. Biden will be 81 when elected in a year and a half, and he would be 86 at the end of a possible second term.
The White House tried to dispel doubts about his suitability due to his old age on Tuesday. “We heard that again and again in 2020,” said Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. As President, he has achieved a lot in the past two years. When asked whether Biden would serve the entire second term if re-elected, his spokeswoman initially answered evasively. Jean-Pierre said at the daily press conference that she didn’t want to anticipate the president. She later wrote on Twitter that she could confirm that Biden would stay in office for a full eight years if re-elected.
Biden performs in front of a friendly audience
For his first public appearance after the announcement, Biden chose a trade union conference in Washington on Tuesday – an audience that generally favors him. The predominantly male and white spectators in the large event hall of a hotel in the US capital greeted him with frenetic applause. Cheers erupted again and again, the crowd chanting “Let’s go, Joe”. Biden, who likes to describe himself as the most pro-union president in US history, seemed like an old friend here.
At least among the employee representatives, the message seemed to get through. “He’s the most pro-union president, at least in my life,” said David Webster of Atlanta, Georgia. Webster represents a union for painters – and is not worried about Biden’s age. Biden is old, but so is Trump. The trade unionist Travis Hopkins from the state of Oregon, who advocates for roofers, saw it similarly: “There are only four more years left,” he said. In addition, there is currently no one else among the Democrats who can compete with the Republicans.
Cautious reaction from the Democrats
Biden’s announcement had been expected for months. He had repeatedly made it clear that he wanted to remain president. Therefore, Biden does not have to fear any prominent competition in his party – because in the USA the incumbent usually has the prerogative. The nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and the author Marianne Williamson have so far submitted applications for the Democratic nomination. You shouldn’t be dangerous to Biden.
Party leaders like Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who are said to have ambitions for the highest office in the state, are left behind. And even two-time Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders announced his support for Biden. The left-wing senator told the AP news agency that he would not run again.
And so the Democrats welcomed the President’s decision after Biden’s announcement – but great enthusiasm looks different. “I think if people look at President Biden and his strong record compared to the alternatives, they will vote for him,” said Democratic Senator Chris Coons, whom Biden, like Whitmer, brought onto his campaign team. Democratic ex-President Barack Obama, under whom Biden was Vice President from 2009 to 2017, wrote on Twitter: “I am proud of everything that Joe Biden and his administration have achieved in recent years.”
Duel expected between Trump and Biden
Unsurprisingly, Republicans responded with personal attacks on Biden. In addition to ex-President Trump, former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and ex-governor of the state of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson are also applying for the party’s presidential candidacy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are also expected to throw their hats in the ring. So far, according to polls, Trump has the best chance of winning the race in his party.
Surveys show that Americans are not particularly keen on another duel between Biden and Trump. In a poll conducted by NBC in mid-April, only 26 percent of respondents said Biden should run as a presidential candidate. In the case of Trump, that was 35 percent.
Trump has been campaigning for months and wants to appear in the state of New Hampshire on Thursday. Biden is likely to be reluctant to make such appearances for the time being: According to US media, the Democrat only really wants to start up the election campaign machine when the Republicans have completed their primary elections. That will only be next year. According to reports, Biden wants to concentrate on his work as president until then. But the election campaign has already begun.
