Biden announced his decision on Twitter Tuesday. Every generation has a moment when they have to stand up for democracy and freedom. “I think that’s ours,” Biden wrote. “That’s why I’m running for re-election as President of the United States.” Biden released a three-minute video clip and said: “Let’s get the job done!”
Speculations about a new start have been around for a long time. Biden already signaled after the midterm elections in November, which were successful for the Democrats, that he wanted to seek a second term in office – but he refrained from official confirmation until the end. This comes exactly four years after Biden entered the presidential race against then-President Donald Trump in 2019.
In the United States, there is a tradition of presidents running for a second term. Biden is unlikely to have any serious inner-party challengers for the primaries for the presidential candidacy. So far, only two outspoken outsiders — anti-vaccine Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and self-help author Marianne Williamson — have said they intend to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Trump back in the running
Among the opposition Republicans, Trump and the former US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, have so far made their presidential candidatures official. Arch-conservative Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is also expected to enter the race.
The primary elections will start early next year, and the presidential election will take place in November 2024. Recent polls are currently predicting a very close race in both a Biden-Trump duel and a Biden-DeSantis duel.
Political veteran
Grandfather of seven, Biden has been in the political business for decades. He sat in the Senate for more than 35 years. From 2009 to 2017 he was deputy to then-US President Barack Obama, before four years later he himself rose to the highest office in the United States.
At the time, his entry into the White House was overshadowed by serious political upheaval surrounding the 2020 election. To this day, Trump refuses to admit defeat to Biden. He claims to have been deprived of victory by gross electoral fraud, but has never produced any evidence. Trump’s campaign against the outcome of the election culminated in an unprecedented outbreak of violence when supporters of the Republican stormed the seat of the US Congress on January 6, 2021.
Already the oldest president in US history
Biden is already the oldest president in US history – and would be 86 years old at the end of a possible second term. This is one of the reasons why many voters are critical of the president’s re-election.
According to a poll published by the US broadcaster NBC on Sunday, 70 percent of those surveyed believe that Biden should not run again. The supporters of his Democrats are 51 percent. Of those voters who oppose running again, almost half cited Biden’s advanced age as an important reason for their opinion. The President has had approval ratings of just over 40 percent for a long time.
Because of Biden’s age and the sometimes sobering poll numbers, there have also been discussions within the Democratic Party in recent months as to whether Biden is the right candidate for another presidential race. However, Biden’s government and his party then recorded some political successes and did surprisingly well in the congressional elections in November – this strengthened Biden’s position both internally and externally.
