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President Joe Biden formally announced his bid for reelection Tuesday, setting off a battle to convince the country his record merits another four years in the White House and his age won’t impede his ability to govern.
In a video released early Tuesday, Biden framed next year’s contest as a fight against Republican extremism, implicitly arguing he needed more time to fully realize his vow to restore the nation’s character.
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” he said in the video, which opened with images of the January 6, 2021, insurrection and abortion rights activists protesting at the US Supreme Court.
“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer,” Biden says in voiceover narration. “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 reelection.”
Biden’s official declaration ends any lingering doubts about his intentions, and begins a contest that could evolve into a rematch with his 2020 rival, former President Donald Trump. He enters the race with a significant legislative record but low approval ratings, a conundrum his advisers have so far been unable to solve. Already the oldest president in history, he also confronts persistent questions about his age.
The launch comes four years to the day Biden made his 2020 bid official. That race became a mission to restore the country’s character and prevent Trump from achieving a second term.
Biden’s fourth and final presidential campaign will rest on similar themes. Just as he did in 2020, Biden is making an appeal to the nation’s ideals, particularly with the specter of Trump’s return.
His announcement video warns against “MAGA extremists” who he says are “dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love.”
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“Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy. Stand up for our personal freedoms. Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights,” he says. “And this is our moment.”
But Biden’s campaign will also ride on promoting the achievements made during the first two years of his presidency – and an argument he needs more time to “finish the job.”
“I know we can,” he says.
The Republican National Committee immediately rolled out an attack ad against Biden, unveiling what it called an “AI-generated look into the country’s possible future if Joe Biden is re-elected.” The dystopian video intermixes “news” of Biden’s reelection in 2024 with faux reports of high crime, international turmoil, rampant illegal immigration and financial calamity.
No major Democratic challengers are expected to emerge, and Biden is likely to enjoy an easy path to his party’s nomination. Only two challengers are in the race: author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Still, at 80, Biden is the nation’s oldest president. Polls have consistently reflected concern about his age even among Democrats.
Most Americans – and even a majority of Democrats – in recent surveys have shown little enthusiasm for another Biden run.
A series of upcoming challenges, from the ongoing war in Ukraine to a still-uncertain economy, could provide hurdles to Biden’s reelection. And now that power in Washington is divided, the GOP-controlled House has largely dashed hopes for major legislative accomplishments in the two years ahead of the 2024 vote.
The president’s tenure in office so far has been marked by key triumphs for his colossal policy agenda, including successfully pushing forward and compromising on a broad set of legacy-making, high pricetag priorities with Congress that addressed funding for the Covid-19 pandemic, rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, bolstering domestic semiconductor chip production, and addressing climate change. And under Biden’s watch, the US has attempted to undo Trump’s legacy of diplomacy operating through a nationalist lens, returning to global agreements and reinforcing partnerships with allies who had been jilted by his predecessor.
But broader national challenges – sometimes outside of federal control – along with admitted administration fumbles have also acted as a magnet for GOP criticism and contributed to low national approval ratings throughout Biden’s time in office.
There was the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan. Struggles on border policy. Fluctuations in energy prices. Missteps with longstanding allies. Supply chain issues and shortages for everyday items and essentials like Covid-19 tests, baby formula and certain medications. Ongoing legal challenges to policies Biden’s implemented through executive authority, like student debt forgiveness. And investigations into his family, which have accelerated under the House GOP majority. And, of course, the pervasive inflation woes impacting global markets and Americans’ spending power.
In the coming months, Biden is also facing pressure to negotiate with Republican lawmakers to raise the national borrowing limit to avoid catastrophic default, a prospect that’s already caused anxiety amid an uncertain economic recovery.
In midterm elections last November, Biden’s party was able to defy historical trends by picking up a seat in the US Senate and avert a dramatic red wave in the House of Representatives. Long a self-identified centrist, Biden has mostly won over progressive Democrats through massive climate investments and steps to relieve student debt. But concerns – including from those among his party – remain over his ability to compel enough voters to stay on board for another term.
Standing up a campaign
Biden’s first public remarks since launching the reelection bid happened at a building trade union members conference in Washington just hours after his campaign video went public. Speaking to a familiar union crowd, he reaffirmed his allegiance to the key group of supporters.
“I’m here because there’s no better place to talk about the progress we’ve made together, and wouldn’t have made without you,” Biden said, underscoring that “there’s more work to do.”
While the president did not explicitly acknowledge his reelection bid, the audience did – chanting “Four more years!” while Biden was speaking.
The Washington beltway event may be indicative of what’s to come for the Biden reelection campaign strategy. The president’s campaign launch is not expected prompt a sudden change in his day-to-day schedule as commander in chief, according to advisers. Instead, it has come amid a busy week of engagements, a signal of Biden’s approach toward balancing his day job with the job of being a candidate.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington, Delaware, in November 2020. The next day, he became President-elect.
AP
Biden carries his sons Beau, left, and Hunter while attending a Democratic convention in Delaware in 1972. At center is his first wife, Neilia, and on the left are future Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt and his wife, Jeanne. Biden, a member of the New Castle County Council, was running for one of Delaware's US Senate seats, and he won that November at the age of 29.
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Biden cuts a cake at his 30th birthday party in November 1972, shortly after winning the Senate election. A few weeks later, Neilia Biden died in a car accident while Christmas shopping. Their baby daughter, Naomi, was also killed in the wreck. The two boys were badly injured, but they survived.
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Biden speaks with US President Jimmy Carter at a fundraising event in Delaware in 1978. Later that year, Biden was re-elected to the Senate. He kept getting re-elected until he resigned in 2009 and became Barack Obama's vice president.
United States Senate
Biden talks with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat after the signing of the Egyptian-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979.
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In 1987, Biden entered the 1988 presidential race. But he dropped out three months later following reports of plagiarism and false claims about his academic record.
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In February 1988, Biden had surgery to repair an aneurysm in an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Here, he sits in his office after returning to work.
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Biden, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, laughs with students as he visits a high school in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2002.
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Biden, second from left, participates in a 2007 presidential debate with other Democratic candidates. With Biden, from left, are John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
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Biden signs his book "Promises to Keep" at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, in 2007.
Elise Amendola/AP
Biden takes the vice president oath of office next to his second wife, Jill, in January 2009. Biden had to resign from the Senate, where he had held office since 1973.
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Biden and Obama put their arms around each other after Obama's
health care overhaul was passed in March 2009. It was the biggest expansion of health care guarantees in more than four decades, and it represented a significant step toward the goal of universal coverage, which had been sought by every Democratic President since Harry Truman.
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Biden sits with Obama and members of Obama's national security team as they monitor
the mission against Osama bin Laden in May 2011.
(Editor's note: The classified document in front of Hillary Clinton was obscured by the White House.)
John Raoux/AP
Biden speaks at the convention of Florida's Democratic Party in October 2011. Biden said he and Obama had made progress on fixing problems they inherited from Republicans, but he said the GOP was using obstructionist tactics to keep the administration from doing more for the economy and middle class.
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Biden whistles to get someone's attention as he stands with a high school marching band in Euclid, Ohio, in November 2011.
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Obama and Biden laugh together as they attend a basketball game in July 2012.
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Biden speaks on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in September 2012.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Biden talks to some bikers at a Seaman, Ohio, diner in September 2012.
Stacy Bengs/AP
Biden holds a baby during a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in September 2012.
Charlie Neibergall/AP
Biden debates US Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate, in the run-up to the 2012 election.
Matt Rourke/AP
Biden salutes as he boards Air Force One in November 2012.
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Biden makes a cameo in the TV show "Parks and Recreation" in 2012. The show's main character, played by Amy Poehler, touched Biden's face and laughed awkwardly when they met.
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Biden listens to Obama speak about gun reform in December 2012. In the wake of a shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, Obama tapped Biden to lead an administration-wide effort against gun violence. But
fierce resistance to new gun legislation thwarted nearly all of the administration's plans.
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Biden hands a vote certificate to US Rep. Robert Brady as Congress officially counts the Electoral College votes in January 2013. Obama and Biden were elected to a second term in November 2012.
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Biden and his wife, Jill, dance during an inaugural ball in January 2013.
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Biden awards the Medal of Valor to William Reynolds, a battalion chief with the Virginia Beach Fire Department, during a ceremony in Washington, DC, in February 2013. Biden presented the award to public safety officers who had exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect others from harm.
Don Ryan/AP
Biden gets ready to pay for an ice cream cone in Portland, Oregon, in October 2014. He was in Portland campaigning for US Sen. Jeff Merkley.
Matt Rourke/AP
Biden tours a dredging barge along the Delaware River in October 2014. During his visit, the vice president discussed the importance of investing in the nation's infrastructure.
Evan Vucci/AP
Biden talks to Stephanie Carter as her husband, Ashton Carter, delivers a speech at the White House in February 2015. Ashton Carter had just been sworn in as the country's new Secretary of Defense, but it was Biden's hands-on whisper
that went viral on social media.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Biden pauses with his family as they enter a visitation for his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, in June 2015. Biden's eldest son
died at the age of 46 after a battle with brain cancer.
Susan Walsh/AP
Biden and Obama share a light moment at the White House, where Obama spoke at a reception honoring Hispanic Heritage Month in October 2015.
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Biden points at Obama during Obama's final State of the Union address in January 2016.
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Biden speaks on stage during the Academy Awards in February 2016. Before introducing Lady Gaga's performance of "Til It Happens to You," Biden encouraged Americans to take action against sexual assault on college campuses. "Let's change the culture," Biden said. "We must, and we can."
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Pete Souza/The White House
Pete Souza/The White House
Biden
greets Ruth Bonner, a 99-year-old daughter of a young slave who escaped to freedom, as he and his wife attend the September 2016 opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Biden wipes away tears as Obama
surprises him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017. "For your faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country and for your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I'd like to ask the military aide to join us on stage," Obama said in the ceremony. "For my final time as President, I am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom."
Susan Walsh/AP
Biden poses for a photo with a dog named Biden as he greets a crowd on Capitol Hill in March 2017.
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Biden speaks at a fundraising dinner for New Hampshire Democrats in April 2017. Biden, who advisers said was nowhere near making a decision on whether to run for president in 2020,
addressed the question head-on. "Guys, I'm not running!" he said with a smile, as the audience in the hotel ballroom booed in response.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
Biden tosses his jacket off stage as he begins to speak at a rally in Pittsburgh in April 2019. Days earlier, he announced that
he would be running for president for a third time.
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Biden is confronted by US Sen. Kamala Harris during the first Democratic debates in June 2019. Harris
went after Biden over his early-career opposition to federally mandated busing. "I did not oppose busing in America," Biden told Harris. "What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education."
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Biden takes a selfie with supporters in Detroit after CNN's Democratic debates in July 2019.
Calla Kessler/The New York Times/Redux Pictures
Biden is questioned about his son Hunter during a campaign stop in New Hampton, Iowa, in December 2019. Biden grew visibly frustrated with the man,
calling him a "damn liar" after the man accused Biden of sending his son to Ukraine "to get a job and work for a gas company, that he had no experience with gas, nothing." Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was vice president. He said recently he used "poor judgment" in serving on the board of the company while his father was pushing anti-corruption measures in Ukraine on behalf of the US government, but he added that he didn't do anything improper. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.
Brittainy Newman/The New York Times/Redux
Biden speaks with Jacquelyn Brittany, a security guard at The New York Times, in December 2019. Brittany was escorting Biden to a Times editorial board meeting when she said: "I love you. I do. You're like my favorite."
The exchange was aired as part of the Times' TV series "The Weekly," and was circulated on social media. In August 2020,
Brittany gave the first speech officially nominating Biden for president at the Democratic National Convention. "I take powerful people up on my elevator all the time," Brittany said. "When they get off, they go to their important meetings. Me, I just head back to the lobby. But in the short time I spent with Joe Biden, I could tell he really saw me. That he actually cared, that my life meant something to him. And I knew even when he went into his important meeting, he'd take my story in there with him." Biden
responded on Twitter: "Jacquelyn: Your nomination means the world to me. Thank you — and I hope you know: we love you back."
John Locher/AP
Biden speaks at a caucus-night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, in February 2020. He finished a disappointing fourth.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Biden rallied from early setbacks in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada,
winning the South Carolina primary in February 2020. "Just days ago, the press and pundits had declared this candidacy dead," Biden said in his speech to supporters. "Because of you, the heart of the Democratic Party, we just won and we won big because of you. We are very much alive."
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Biden puts his hands on the shoulders of Pete Buttigieg as Buttigieg
endorses him for president in March 2020. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had just dropped out of the Democratic race.
Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Biden's wife, Jill, blocks a protester who charged the stage during his Super Tuesday speech in Los Angeles in March 2020. The protester was holding a sign that said "Let dairy die."
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Biden and US Sen. Kamala Harris greet each other at a Detroit high school as they attend a "Get Out the Vote" event in March 2020. Harris had dropped out of the presidential race a few months earlier.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Biden has a
testy exchange about gun rights as he tours a Fiat Chrysler assembly plant in Detroit in March 2020. A man confronted Biden and accused the former vice president of trying to "take away our guns." Biden responded, "You're full of s***" and tried to clarify his policies, saying he supports the Second Amendment.
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Biden greets US Sen. Bernie Sanders with an elbow bump before the start of
their one-on-one debate in Washington, DC, in March 2020. The two Democrats went with an elbow bump instead of a handshake because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sanders ended his presidential campaign the following month, clearing Biden's path to the Democratic nomination.
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In May 2020, Biden
denied a former aide's claims that he sexually assaulted her 27 years ago. "This never happened," Biden said of Tara Reade's allegation. In an interview with MSNBC, Biden said he did not know why Reade was now making the allegation.
Patrick Semansky/AP
On Memorial Day, the Bidens lay a wreath at the Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware.
In a CNN interview, Biden called President Donald Trump "an absolute fool" for sharing a tweet that mocked him for wearing a mask.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Biden touches his face while speaking at a church in Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2020. As he spoke with African-American leaders, Biden
pledged to take steps to combat institutional racism and re-establish a police oversight body at the Justice Department.
Matt Slocum/AP
People are socially distanced from one another as Biden speaks in Darby, Pennsylvania, in June 2020.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Biden holds handwritten notes that reference US Sen. Kamala Harris in July 2020.
The talking points fueled fresh speculation about Harris' standing as a possible running mate.
Adam Schultz/Biden for President
Biden calls Harris from his Delaware home to inform her that she was his choice for vice president.
Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Andrew Harnik/AP
Biden joins hands with Harris after the
Democratic National Convention in August 2020. They are joined on stage by Biden's wife, Jill, and Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff.
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Biden speaks to supporters from a distance after meeting with labor leaders in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in September 2020. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Biden has taken
a careful approach to campaigning.
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Biden greets Vice President Mike Pence as they attend a ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.
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Biden speaks to reporters before boarding his campaign plane in Duluth, Minnesota, in September 2020.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
People sitting in social-distancing circles are reflected in Biden's sunglasses as he speaks in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Biden is reminded by his wife, Jill, to maintain proper social distancing as he speaks to reporters at an airport in Miami in October 2020.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Biden sits across from ABC News' George Stephanopoulos before the start of his town-hall event in Philadelphia in October 2020. Biden and Trump held
separate town halls instead of debating each other in a town-hall format. The schedule change came about after Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus. The Commission on Presidential Debates proposed a virtual debate, but Trump refused to take part and Biden went ahead with plans for his own town hall. Trump's campaign later arranged its own town hall — on a different network, during the same hour.
Julio Cortez/AP
Biden speaks during his debate with Trump in October 2020. Because
their first debate quickly descended into a glorified shouting match, the Commission on Presidential Debates instituted
an unprecedented change this time around: The candidates had their microphones cut off while their opponent responded to the first question of each of the debate's six segments.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Biden delivers remarks in the rain during a drive-in rally in Tampa, Florida, in October 2020.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Biden is joined by his running mate, US Sen. Kamala Harris, after Election Day came and went without a winner. "After a long night of counting, it's clear that we are winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency,"
Biden told supporters at a drive-in rally in Wilmington, Delaware. "I'm not here to declare that we have won. But I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."
From Dr. Jill Biden/Twitter
Biden's wife, Jill,
tweeted this photo after her husband was projected as the winner of the presidential race. "He will be a President for all of our families," she said.
Gabriella Demczuk for CNN
Biden gives his first speech as president-elect, addressing supporters at a drive-in event in Wilmington, Delaware. "Tonight the whole world is watching America, and I believe that at our best, America is a beacon for the globe," Biden said in his speech. "We will lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example."
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Biden introduces the men and women
he was nominating to join his national security and foreign policy team. "It's a team that will keep our country and our people safe and secure," Biden said. "And it's a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it."
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Biden, center, waves after speaking at a campaign rally in Atlanta for US Senate candidates Raphael Warnock, second from left, and Jon Ossoff, second from right, in December 2020. Both candidates won their runoff races, giving Democrats control of the Senate.
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Biden receives a Covid-19 vaccination in Newark, Delaware, in December 2020.
Susan Walsh/AP
Biden speaks in Wilmington, Delaware,
after the US Capitol was breached in January 2021. Biden was planning to deliver a speech on the economy, but he scrapped his speech and instead addressed the chaos and violence in Washington, DC. He said the rioting amounted to an "unprecedented assault" on US democracy. "This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos," he said. "It borders on sedition, and it must end now."
Evan Vucci/AP
Biden tears up in New Castle, Delaware, as he speaks about his late son Beau before heading to Washington, DC, for his inauguration. Biden said he was proud to be delivering his send-off remarks from the National Guard Center in New Castle, which is named after Beau Biden. "I only have one regret: that he's not here, because we should be introducing him as president," Biden said.
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Erin Schaff/Pool/The New York Times/AP
Biden is sworn in as president by Chief Justice John Roberts as his wife holds the Bible. Biden's children Ashley and Hunter are on the right. "Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation," Biden said in his inaugural address.
Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/AP
Biden signs three documents after his swearing-in ceremony: his inauguration day proclamation, his nominations for the Cabinet and his nominations for sub-Cabinet positions.
Evan Vucci/AP
Biden arrives at the White House for the first time as president.
Adam Schultz/The White House
Biden poses with his dogs, Champ and Major, in the Oval Office in February 2021. The German shepherds marked a return to a
longstanding tradition of Presidents and their families bringing their pets with them to the White House.
Champ died in June 2021 at the age of 13.
Andrew Harnik/Pool/Getty Images
Biden speaks from the White House Treaty Room in April 2021 as he announced his decision to
withdraw American troops from Afghanistan before September 11. "I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats," Biden said. "I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth."
Melina Mara/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Biden addresses a joint session of Congress in April 2021. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, only a limited number of lawmakers were in the House chamber.
Biden's speech focused on the administration's accomplishments thus far and unveiled key components of his next legislative push.
Adam Schultz/The White House
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A security officer asks the media to step back at the start of
a summit between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2021. Seated from left are US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The summit, held in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first meeting of Biden and Putin since Biden was elected President.
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The Bidens visit a memorial near the partially collapsed building in Surfside, Florida, in July 2021.
Biden traveled to Surfside to console families still waiting on news of their loved ones. Their meetings were closed to the press.
Evan Vucci/AP
Biden pauses as he listens to a question about
a suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed Afghan civilians and US service members in August 2021. The terror group ISIS-K, which rivals the Taliban in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the bombing. "We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," he said.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi depart following a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus in October 2021. Biden was at the Capitol to
lay out the framework of his economic plan and make his case for it.
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Biden gives Pope Francis a challenge coin during
his trip to the Vatican in October 2021. Between them is Italian translator Elisabetta Savigni Ullmann. It was the fourth meeting between Francis and Biden, but their first since Biden became President. Biden, a devout lifelong Catholic, met with the Pope for 90 minutes and said he discussed "a lot of personal things" with the pontiff.
Evan Vucci/AP
Biden signs a
bipartisan infrastructure bill into law during a White House ceremony in November 2021. The $1.2 trillion legislation focuses on infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden speaks from the Capitol in January 2022 to mark the one-year anniversary of the
Capitol riot. In his remarks,
Biden forcefully called out former President Donald Trump for attempting to undo American democracy. "For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol," Biden said. "But they failed. They failed. And on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again."
Doug Mills/The New York Times/Redux
Biden addresses the National League of Cities' Congressional City Conference in March 2022.
Joshua Roberts/Sipa/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Biden hands West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin the pen used to sign the
Inflation Reduction Act at the White House in August 2022. Also pictured from left are Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone and Florida Rep. Kathy Castor.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Biden and former President Barack Obama attend a campaign event for Democratic senatorial candidate John Fetterman and Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro in November 2022. Fetterman went on to
defeat opponent Mehmet Oz in one of the most closely-watched races of the midterms.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Biden greets Border Patrol agents near the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, in January 2023. He was making his first visit to the southern border as president.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
US Sen. Raphael Warnock, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, greets Biden during a worship service in Atlanta in January 2023. It was on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. King was co-pastor of the church from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. Biden became the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday sermon from the historic church.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Biden, seen through a window, delivers his first-ever address from the White House Oval Office on June 2, 2023. He declared bipartisanship alive and well as he
pointed to the compromise measure that raised the federal borrowing limit and avoided a catastrophic default.
Susan Walsh/AP
Biden reviews royal guards in front of Britain's King Charles III during a
welcoming ceremony in Windsor, England, on July 10, 2023. It was Biden's second trip to Windsor Castle since taking office.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, speaks as Biden, center, joins
striking union members on the picket line in Belleville, Michigan. Biden made history by being the first sitting president to join a picket line.
Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Redux
Biden, center right, is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. Biden capped his trip by
sending an emphatic message of support to Israel, promising new aid to Netanyahu's government as it prepared fresh action against Hamas.
“He’s just gonna keep doing his schedule,” one Biden adviser told CNN.
First lady Jill Biden, who is expected to be an active campaigner for her spouse, kept to her normal Tuesday schedule and returned to teach at Northern Virginia Community College hours after the president’s announcement video launched.
“Just like four years ago—I’m off to teach and Joe’s launched his (re-election) campaign! Let’s finish the job!” she tweeted.
The launch and the lack of any immediate campaign rallies mirror then-President Barack Obama’s reelection launch. Like Obama, Biden’s video announcement will set off a mad-dash of fundraising and build-out of the reelection infrastructure Biden hopes will win him a second term. But it won’t put Biden on the campaign trail in the near future.
Obama held his first reelection campaign rally in May 2012, 13 months after announcing his bid for a second term.
The wait for a Biden reelection rally could be just as long.
As of now, Biden advisers said the president does not intend to hold any reelection campaign rallies until Republicans have a presumptive nominee and the general election begins in earnest.
Biden does intend to leverage the power of the incumbency and the bully pulpit that comes with it. While he will forego rallies, he will continue to leverage official White House events and travel outside of Washington to tout his accomplishments, draw a contrast with Republicans and get out his reelection message.
What Biden could begin soon is a heavier schedule of fundraising. Democratic officials have laid tentative plans for Biden to begin an active fundraising schedule this summer. And he is expected to meet some major donors to his previous campaign in Washington this week.
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Efforts to stand up the campaign intensified in the days ahead of his announcement.
On Tuesday, he named Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior White House official, as his campaign manager, and Quentin Fulks, who ran Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock’s successful 2022 race, as his deputy campaign manager.
While Rodriguez will formally manage the campaign, the effort will also be largely guided from the West Wing, where top aides Anita Dunn, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti will also play central roles.
He also named a slate of campaign co-chairs, including Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Veronica Escobar of Texas; Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois; DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The operation is expected to be headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden spends most weekends.
His campaign will begin its first television ad buy Wednesday with ads expected to run in important battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a source familiar with the plans. The source declined to detail how much money will be poured into the ad campaign.
The ad buy signals the Biden team’s desire to begin engaging in key battleground states he carried during the 2020 presidential campaign and that would be pivotal to his reelection in 2024.
While Biden’s public facing events Tuesday came from the official White House side, the president engaged behind the scenes with Democratic governors, speaking with them about his campaign message, a campaign spokesperson said.
Additionally, current and former senior officials started reaching out to leaders and grassroots organizers affiliated with coalitions that were key in the 2020 campaign, including women, African Americans, Hispanics, veterans, progressives, LGBTQ individuals, and young people, the spokesperson said.
Biden had long said he planned to run again in 2024, but he had also underscored frequently that he’s a respecter of fate and that he’d have to confer with his family before deciding to throw his hat into the ring.
He told CNN’s Jake Tapper in October that he planned to process whether to run for reelection after the midterm elections.
Biden’s top advisers revealed last fall that they had been making plans to build out a 2024 run. And Vice President Kamala Harris has consistently said she expects to be Biden’s runningmate if he runs for reelection.
Biden, a career politician with decades of experience in Washington, entered his first presidential term in 2021 in the shadow of an insurrection and pervasive election denialism that has trailed him through his time in office. His 2020 presidential campaign was built on a belief that the election was a battle for the soul of the nation following four years under Trump.
And it’s a theme he’s repeatedly tapped into throughout his time in office, going so far as to deliver an urgent rebuke of Trump and those aligned with his attempts to undermine democracy ahead of the 2022 midterms, essentially arguing that the elections were a referendum on election denialism.
Coming out of a once-in-a-generation pandemic and taking office days after a history-making act of public upheaval and violence in Washington, Biden faces two unique challenges coming into the 2024 campaign.
First, the former congressional lawmaker elected to office as the sixth youngest US senator in history will be the first incumbent octogenarian to ask the American public to reappoint him to a term that would end when he’s 86 years old.
CNN reported in August that a campaign is a heavy lift for which not everyone in the family was initially on board. But Jill Biden told CNN during an interview in February she was “all for it.”
In October, the president maintained that voters concerned about his age should see his record of accomplishments since taking office.
“Well, they’re concerned about whether or not I can get anything done. Look what I’ve gotten done,” Biden told Tapper. “Name me a president in recent history that’s gotten done as much as I have in their first two years.”
Biden will also face the unique prospect of possibly facing a former president as his potential challenger.
Trump, who has been indicted on business fraud charges in New York and remains under investigation for his actions as president, would have to defy historical odds to retake the presidency. The only US president to lose a presidential election and then regain the White House four years later was Grover Cleveland. And so far, some Republicans have been tepid about Trump’s presidential bid, especially after how poorly Trump-backed candidates did in key races in last fall’s midterms. Yet at this stage, Trump remains the clear Republican frontrunner, leading his rivals by double digits.
Biden has said he believes he can beat Trump again, but his bid does not allay recent fears from fellow Democrats uncertain about how he’ll fare against a different Republican leading the ticket.
Some top Democrats have privately told CNN they worry this could lead to a more difficult 2024 campaign against a younger, fresher Republican.
This story has been updated with additional developments.