Biden, 80, already the oldest president in U.S. history, will be 86 by the end of his second term
Posted Date – Tue, 4/25/23 at 10:15pm
file photo
Washington: U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he is seeking re-election, with Vice President Kamala Harris re-emerging as his running mate.
“The question before us is whether, in the years to come, we will have more or less freedom, more or less rights,” Biden said in a video announcement. “I know what the answers I want are. This is not the time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election.”
At 80, Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history and will be 86 at the end of his second term. Even among Democratic voters, his age has raised questions about his fitness to be president. But they have been on his side since he decided to seek re-election.
The 2024 race will be his fourth for the White House. He first ran for election in 1988 and was then won by US President Barack Obama in 2008, where he was elected vice president. Biden was widely expected to run in 2016, when Obama’s second term was coming to an end, but he was unsuccessful. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination that cycle but later lost to Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Biden scored his third success in 2020, and now his fourth and final. He has run for office since 1970, when it was City Council. He first ran for the Senate in 1972 and won, serving the seat for ten years before becoming vice president.
As the incumbent president, the Democratic nomination is his, although two people have so far announced they want the nomination too — self-help author Marianne Williamson and Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, and his son Robert Kennedy. Kennedy Attorney General Robert F Kennedy’s presidential campaign ended with the assassination. None of them are equipped to present a credible challenge to the president.
Biden could face former President Donald Trump in the November 2024 election. While the Republican primary lineup is still being formed, Trump remains the favorite as he leads his rivals and potential rivals.
Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations of Indian descent, is one of the few Republicans to have announced a bid for the party’s nomination, but she has struggled in the polls.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to announce but is widely seen as the only possible challenger to Trump.
Trump issued a statement on Monday anticipating Biden’s announcement, slamming the latter’s presidency. “In such a disastrous and failed presidency, it’s almost inconceivable that Biden would even consider running for re-election,” he said.
The former president continues to repeat his fraudulent claims about losing the 2020 presidential election to fraud and cheating.
