Biden, 80, finally confirms he is RUNNING in 2024: After months of waiting, mounting questions about his age and dire polls, the President announces he will seek a second term (even though he’ll be 86 when he leaves)

• Biden makes his run for a second term official with video announcement
• Announcement has been in works for weeks as he hires campaign staff
• Unclear when he’ll hit the campaign trail but he meets with donors on Friday 

Joe Biden finally announced on Tuesday what he has been dancing around for months – that he will seek a second term in office.

The 80-year-old has thrown his hat into the ring despite mounting questions about his age – which will be 86 at the end of his second term – dire polls, and concern from his own party over whether he is the best candidate.

‘Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms. I believe this is ours,’ Biden said in a Twitter video on Tuesday morning. 

‘That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job.’ 

The three-minute video begins with footage from the January 6 Capitol Riot, an abortion protest out the Supreme Court and then a clip with him alongside Kamala Harris.

President Joe Biden has finally announced he will run for a second term

‘Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred,’ the campaign video released Tuesday continued.

‘That’s been the work of my first term: To fight for our Democracy. This shouldn’t be a red or blue issue. To protect our rights. To make sure that everyone in this country is treated equally. And that everyone is given a fair shot at making it.’

‘But around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away. 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,’ says the video narrated by Biden.

‘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,’ the ad also states.

‘I know what I want the answer to be and I think you do too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election.’

His announcement on Tuesday marks the four-year anniversary of his entry into the 2020 presidential election. It’s been in the works for weeks, however. 

Biden shot part of the video when he was at his family home in Rehoboth Beach earlier this month and he’s slowing putting together a campaign staff, including naming longtime adviser Julie Chavez Rodriguez as manager.

But it’s unclear when he’ll actually hit the campaign trail. His week is busy – he has a state dinner with the president of North Korea on Wednesday, on Friday he’ll present the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy to the Air Force Falcons during a ceremony at the White House; and on Saturday he and Jill Biden will attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

On Friday, he will meet with some of his top donors, according to reports, as he begins the tedious process of raising the millions necessary for a modern-day presidential campaign. 

His campaign message is expected to focus on his accomplishments in office – particularly his bipartisan Infrastructure plan, his CHIPS plan, and his American Rescue Plan in response to the COVID pandemic. 

Biden will also bring back a theme from his last White House bid: his fight for democracy and pushing back at the threat he sees ‘MAGA Republicans’ posing to the country. He often accuses Republicans of trying to cut entitlement programs that hurt the middle class – a voting bloc that tends to decide presidential elections. He’s called the far right an ‘attack on the soul of our nation.’

But, unlike in 2020, when Biden focused his attacks on Trump, this time around he will have to defend his own record in the White House. And Republicans have already tested out battle lines: hitting Biden for what they call out-of-control government spending, hammering him on the high rate of inflation and the national debt, and criticizing him for not doing enough about illegal immigration.

‘Running for the president the first time is aspirational. You can make all sorts of big, bold promises,’ former White House press secretary Jen Psaki on her MSNBC Sunday, predicting an ‘incredibly difficult’ re-election campaign for the president. 

‘Running for reelection is when you actually get your report card from the American people.’ 

The Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released a statement immediately following Biden’s reelection announcement Tuesday, blasting the president for being ‘out-of-touch’ with America.

‘Biden is so out-of-touch that after creating crisis after crisis, he thinks he deserves another four years. If voters let Biden ‘finish the job,’ inflation will continue to skyrocket, crime rates will rise, more fentanyl will cross our open borders, children will continue to be left behind, and American families will be worse off,’ McDaniel said. 

‘Republicans are united to beat Biden and Americans are counting down the days until they can send Biden packing.’ 

Biden enters the race as half of Democrats admit they’d prefer another option for their presidential nominee and Republicans have double down on their support for Donald Trump amid the former president’s legal issues.

At 80 years old, Biden is the oldest person ever to be elected president and questions linger about his health. His doctor has pronounced him fit to serve but Biden has shown signs he’s feeling his years: he sometimes walks with a limp, he has tripped walking up the stairs to board Air Force One, and he’s made multiple verbal gaffes. 

And he’ll be on public display over the next year in a way he wasn’t during the 2020 campaign when he campaigned from zoom meetings and in rare car rallies because of the dangers of COVID.

The American people will regularly see him out and about, interacting with voters and showing he’s fit to serve. 

Joe and Jill Biden during the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which was held virtually due to the COVID pandemic

Joe Biden taking the oath of office as a senator in January 1973 when he was first elected

Additionally, the Democratic National Convention will be in person this year and Biden is expected to do the traditional campaign stops – large and small: massive rallies, hand-shaking at diners, and selfies on the rope line.

His health will be watched and Republicans will be looking for a chance to question it. 

The GOP also is expected to use Biden’s age as way to question Kamala Harris’s fitness to be commander in chief. She is expected to be a target in the campaign as Republicans ask Americans if they feel comfortable with her next in line for the presidency.

And whether or not she turns out to be a political liability – as some Democrats fear – remains to be seen. 

Meanwhile, Biden will have to balance the demands of the campaign with the challenges of the presidency. 

He won’t just have Republican presidential contenders attacking him. The GOP holds the majority in the House of Representatives and Biden is already warring with Speaker Kevin McCarthy on how to raise the U.S. debt limit before the country defaults on its loans this summer. 

Additionally, House Republicans are investigating his son Hunter Biden, who could face federal charges in the coming days. 

If Biden wins a second term, he’ll be 86 when he leaves office in January 2029. 

When asked about the concerns about his age, Biden has simply responded: ‘Watch me.’ 

But his age has voters concerned. 

Only half of Democrats, or 47%, think Biden should run again, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last week. Overall, just 26% of Americans want him to run. 

On Sunday, an NBC News survey showed that 70 percent of U.S. adults said Biden should not run for another term, while 26 percent said he should. 

An average of 75 percent of Democrats wanted to renominate Barack Obama during his first presidential term.

Americans have cited Biden’s age and his handling of the economy as the reason for their concern. 

Then there’s the state of the country. 

The United States is still struggling to recover from the economic shutdown that took place during the COVID pandemic. Inflation remains high as does the cost of food and gas. 

And as the Federal Reserves raises interest rates to try and rein in inflation, it costs more to take a loan to buy a house or a car or to pay off a credit card. 

The president also is still dealing with the fallout from his chaotic handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.

Biden’s approval rating has been hovering in the low 40s – it sits at 43 percent in the Real Clear Politics polling average. 

President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff – Republicans are expected to target the vice president

House Republicans are investigating Biden’s son Hunter 

Still, unless a spoiler candidate enters the race, Biden has an easy walk to the Democratic nomination. Thus far his competition is anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Jr. and spiritual adviser to the stars Marianne Williamson. 

And Democrats seem to moving toward a state of acceptance when it comes to voting for Biden in the November 2024 election. The Democratic National Committee doesn’t seem to be planning on primary debates, leaving Biden free to focus on his general election message.

Other prominent Democrats, including Governors Gavin Newsom of California and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, said they would not challenge the sitting president.

Leading the race for the Republican nomination is Donald Trump, who Biden beat in 2020 by winning the Electoral College 306 to 232, including victories in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia.

Trump is 76 years old. But some Democrats fear a younger, more vibrant GOP nominee could pose a danger to Biden’s re-election chances. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is contemplating a run and could announce this Spring. At 44, he and his wife Casey have three young children.  

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