President Joe Biden jogs across the South Lawn of the White House to talk with visitors before boarding Marine One, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Washington. Biden turns 80 on Sunday, Nov. 20.
Patrick Semansky | AP
President Joe Biden on Tuesday launched his reelection bid, as he seeks to win over Americans who’re uninterested in stubbornly high inflation or nervous about his ability to serve a second term within the White House.
“After I ran for President 4 years ago, I said we’re in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are. The query we face is whether or not within the years ahead we’ve more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer,” Biden, 80, says in a video announcing his campaign. “I do know what I would like the reply to be and I feel you do, too. This isn’t a time to be complacent. That is why I’m running for reelection.”
If Biden won a second term, he would extend his streak because the oldest person to sit down within the Oval Office: He can be 82 on Inauguration Day 2025. Despite concerns about his age amongst Democrats, no serious opposition to Biden has emerged, at the same time as the Republican field grows larger.
Polling shows Democrats prefer a candidate apart from Biden, but there is not a consensus on who that alternative can be. An NBC News poll released Sunday found 70% of Americans, including 51% of Democrats, imagine Biden mustn’t seek a second term. Half of voters who don’t need Biden to run say his age is a “major” factor.
Still, Biden’s first-term accomplishments, combined with Democrats’ stronger-than-expected showing within the midterms and the early declaration by former President Donald Trump, have bolstered Biden’s image as a protected bet. Trump seeks his third GOP presidential nomination while facing criminal charges in Latest York, under several other criminal probes and just over two years faraway from House impeachment on charges that he incited an rebel on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Biden had an eventful first half of his term. The Covid-19 pandemic was still in full swing when he assumed office, as much of the country worked from home and coronavirus vaccine distribution had just began. He heralded legislative efforts to pour trillions into the U.S. economy to stave off a post-pandemic recession — though his efforts to reimagine the U.S. social safety net hit a wall in Congress.
Biden was capable of accomplish lots of his ambitious campaign goals with the assistance of a Democratic-controlled Congress for the primary half of his term. He was capable of push through the sprawling pandemic relief plan, a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law and the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act — all inside the first 20 months of his term.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on this still image taken from his official campaign launch video published on April 25, 2023.Â
Social Media | Via Reuters
The plans included much of his “Construct Back Higher” domestic agenda. Still, the slim majorities in Congress, particularly within the Senate, pared back lots of his most ambitious plans and compelled him to make use of executive orders to implement changes on issues like student loan forgiveness and police reform.
On the international stage, Biden oversaw the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and led international allies to spice up Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
His recent State of the Union address served as a preview for his second-term pitch. He called again for unity and promised to “finish the job” he began.
Within the video published Tuesday, Biden says “MAGA extremists are lining up” to remove “bedrock freedoms.”
“Cutting Social Security that you have paid in your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy,” Biden says within the video. “Dictating what health-care decisions women could make, banning books and telling individuals who they’ll love. All while making it tougher so that you can find a way to vote.”
The economy, often a robust predictor for the way incumbent presidents fare, offers mixed indicators for Biden. Unemployment earlier this yr was at a nearly 54-year low, but elevated inflation continues to be burdening consumers with high costs at the same time as it starts to ease.
Biden rose to the front of the crowded Democratic primary field in 2020 as weary left-leaning voters fretted over selecting a candidate strong enough to defeat then-incumbent Trump. Despite his age, Biden’s experience made him a formidable candidate and a seemingly stable bet for Democrats. As global tensions rise amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and China’s increasingly aggressive stances, Biden again can fall back on his years as a statesman for assurance.
The Republican field is already beginning to take shape as Trump and former U.N. Secretary Nikki Haley have launched their campaigns. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina are taking initial steps to run.
Within the NBC News poll, Trump was the favourite amongst Republican candidates with 46% of support, compared with 31% for DeSantis and 6% for former Vice President Mike Pence. Haley and Scott tied at 3%.
Trump at 76 also faces questions on his age. The NBC News poll, which was conducted from April 14 to April 18 after the previous president’s arrest and arraignment in Latest York City, found 60% of Americans say Trump also mustn’t run. Voters who don’t think Trump should run were split on whether the recent charges affect their view.
Early polling shows a detailed hypothetical general election race. A Wall Street Journal poll from mid-April found Biden leading Trump in a head-to-head matchup by 3 percentage points, 48% to 45%. The identical survey found DeSantis leading Biden by the identical margin, 48% to 45%.
Biden had a 41% job approval rating within the April NBC News poll. The figure was below his 57% high when he took office, but above his low of 39% in May 2022.
