Tuesday morning, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have declared their intentions to run for re-election, putting to bed the speculation that swirled around the administration for months. In a video, Biden explained that democracy faces an existential threat from former President Donald J. Trump.
“Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away,” President Biden said. “Cutting Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy. Dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books and telling people who they can love. All while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote.
“When I ran for president four years ago,” he added, “I said we were in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are.”
The announcement allows President Biden to fundraise nearly eighteen months out from the 2024 general election. Biden’s current approval rating is 42.5%, the lowest rating from ten out of the last thirteen presidents according to FiveThirtyEight.
Biden, 80, is already the oldest president in American history and would be 86 when his second term is completed, almost nine years older than Ronald Reagan when he exited the White House in 1989. Expect more attacks on Vice-President Harris as the election draws closer, even though Trump would be 80 years old if he were to complete a term in 2028, if elected.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been touring the country promoting a book, touting his victories that he says targets ‘woke politics’ while attacking former President Trump for his indiscretions. Even though he has not directly made his intentions clear regarding a presidential bid, DeSantis has become a major player on the national stage.
With that in mind, Biden believes it is not a time for Democrats to be complacent.
“When I ran for President four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America – and we still are. The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer,” said President Biden. “I know what I want the answer to be. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection. I know America and I know we are good and decent people. I know we are still a country that believes in honesty and respect, and treating each other with dignity. We’re a nation where we give hate no safe harbor. We believe that everyone is equal, and that everyone should be given a fair shot to succeed in this country.”
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, currently a senior adviser to the president and the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, will serve as Biden’s campaign manager. Additionally, Quentin Fulks, who managed Raphael Warnock’s successful 2022 Georgia Senate campaign, will serve as deputy campaign manager. Fulks is an adviser to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and is currently participating in a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School. Fulks, 33, is Black, and Rodriguez, 45, is the granddaughter of labor icon Cesar Chavez and the highest-ranking Latino in the White House. The decisions are a commitment to diversity that have been a hallmark of the Biden administration.