President Biden shakes palms with union members after giving a speech about his financial agenda at a union corridor in Accokeek, Md., on April 19.

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President Biden shakes palms with union members after giving a speech about his financial agenda at a union corridor in Accokeek, Md., on April 19.

Patrick Semansky/AP

After months of hinting at a likely bid, President Biden formally introduced on Tuesday that he’ll search a second time period as president of the United States within the 2024 election.

“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,” Biden mentioned in a 3-minute video asserting his run.

The video hyperlinks photos from the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol with protests over the Supreme Court determination overturning abortion rights.

At 80, Biden is the oldest particular person to function president, some extent that has given Democrats pause, questioning, at occasions, whether or not he offers them one of the best probability at successful. But the previous vp and longtime Delaware senator is unlikely to face a severe problem for the nomination.

Rank-and-file Democratic voters started to coalesce across the president, as his intention to run grew to become evident.

Half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents mentioned in a February NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll that they’d a greater probability with Biden than another person. That was a reversal from shortly earlier than the 2022 midterms when a majority mentioned they although they might have a greater shot with another person.

That various, nevertheless, by no means emerged. Vice President Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for instance, have had constantly worse favorability rankings.

Biden’s entry now units up a possible rematch with former President Donald Trump, who announced in November that he would additionally make one other run for workplace. Trump is predicted to face a vigorous major race, although he stays the candidate to beat.

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel mentioned in a press release that Biden is “out of touch” and blamed him for inflation, crime charges and fentanyl trafficking.

President Biden speaks within the Rose Garden of the White House on April 18 about efforts to extend entry to baby care.

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President Biden speaks within the Rose Garden of the White House on April 18 about efforts to extend entry to baby care.

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A weak incumbent

The announcement comes 4 years to the day from the launch of Biden’s 2020 marketing campaign — which he additionally declared by way of video. But in contrast to 2020, when there have been 19 different candidates already within the crowded race, Biden just isn’t anticipated to face any severe Democratic contenders this time round.

Biden’s win in 2020 was largely a mirrored image of antipathy towards Trump from a good portion of the nation, and anger over the Trump administration’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the pandemic is essentially within the political rearview mirror, and the unsure economic system dominates as Americans’ high concern. The economic system is an space of vulnerability for Biden. A March NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist ballot discovered simply 38% permitted of his dealing with of the economic system, together with simply 28% of independents.

Overall, Biden’s approval score, like Trump’s earlier than him, has lagged within the low-40s. It nose-dived a number of months into his first yr in workplace after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In latest months, views of Biden have stabilized, however he stays in a tenuous place on this hyper-partisan period.

First girl Jill Biden waves as she and President Biden stroll to Marine One on April 6.

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First girl Jill Biden waves as she and President Biden stroll to Marine One on April 6.

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‘Soul of our nation’ vs. ‘Finish the job’

Biden has lengthy credited his household for encouraging him to run in 2020, when he defeated Trump — a win that Trump refused to simply accept, citing false claims of voter fraud.

Biden’s 2024 video options a picture of Trump with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a onetime ally and now seemingly challenger within the Republican race — together with a picture of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. — as Biden describes what he calls “MAGA extremists” who he mentioned are “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.”

Biden ran his first marketing campaign on a platform of preventing for “the soul of our nation,” arguing that Trump had stirred up racist and antidemocratic sentiment that was hurting the nation.

That yr, Biden was capable of safe the presidency by flipping Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona — states that in 2016 had gone to Trump.

Biden ended Tuesday’s marketing campaign announcement with the phrase “let’s finish the job,” a line he first examined out in his State of the Union tackle this yr.

Biden repeated the phrase 12 occasions throughout that speech in February, referring to rebuilding the center class, capping the price of insulin, increasing Medicaid, appearing on local weather change, rising taxes on billionaires, strengthening antitrust enforcement, getting extra reasonably priced housing, funding common pre-Ok, rising vocational job alternatives, pushing for police reform and banning assault-style weapons.

President Biden speaks exterior St. Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, Ireland, on April 14.

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President Biden speaks exterior St. Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, Ireland, on April 14.

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Biden’s prospects

On Tuesday, Biden additionally introduced some key members of his marketing campaign staff: marketing campaign supervisor Julie Chávez Rodriguez, who has been the White House level particular person with governors and mayors throughout Biden’s first time period in workplace, and principal deputy marketing campaign supervisor Quentin Fulks, who ran the marketing campaign of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in 2022.

Biden has been saying he supposed to run for a second time period since his earliest days in workplace. But even Democratic voters have been lukewarm on him. Biden’s reputation plunged last year, pressured by involved over the withdrawal from Afghanistan, then by hovering shopper costs.

But Biden’s prospects improved after the midterms. Democrats carried out higher than anticipated, largely due to activism round abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s determination to overturn Roe v. Wade — and due to the toxicity of many Trump-backed candidates in aggressive states and districts.

Biden’s insurance policies have largely been standard, together with local weather and well being care measures within the Inflation Reduction Act, and bipartisan spending payments on infrastructure and semiconductors plans. That’s helped him to make a powerful case for himself for 2024, mentioned Democratic strategist Lis Smith, an adviser to Pete Buttigieg in his 2020 bid.

“Joe Biden has had one of the most successful first two years of any president in recent history,” Smith mentioned. “He has been dismissed and discounted at every turn, and still overperformed expectations. I think that he will be a really formidable nominee in 2024 and that Democrats will fully rally behind him.”

That is prone to be notably true if Trump is the Republican nominee, mentioned Jim Messina, who was the marketing campaign supervisor for former President Barack Obama’s reelection marketing campaign in 2012.

“We’ve already had this race,” Messina mentioned of a possible Biden-Trump rematch. “And Trump is now significantly weaker.”

The audio story was produced by Lexie Schapitl.