Biden 2024 news: White House botches question over term length as campaign embraces ‘Dark Brandon’ meme

Democrat posts ‘Let’s Finish the Job’ promo announcing fresh run and attacking GOP populists, warning basic rights are under assault from intolerant conservatives

President Joe Biden confirms 2024 reelection bid

US president Joe Biden has announced his 2024 re-election bid in a new video early on Tuesday morning, exactly four years after he launched his last campaign for the White House.

His “Let’s Finish the Job” promo opens with footage of the events of 6 January 2021 and reaffirms his commitment to fighting for freedom and democracy. It features a pointed attack on “MAGA extremists”, whom Mr Biden warns are hell-bent on cutting social security while offering tax breaks to the wealthy and assaulting abortion rights, LGBT+ values, limiting voting access and banning books.

Mr Biden says “this is our moment” to stand up for the rights of Americans as he urges voters to give him a second term in the White House to “finish the job”.

“Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” he says.

“There’s nothing more important, nothing more sacred. That’s been the work of my first term to fight for our democracy, 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.”

At 80, Mr Biden is the oldest candidate in American history to ever make a reelection bid.

Following his announcement, the US is now shaping up to see a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, when Mr Biden beat Mr Trump in the Republican’s quest for a second term.

But, based on recent polls, a 2020 rematch does not appear to be what the American people currently want.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had to clarify a response during her briefing on Tuesday after a reporter asked whether Mr Biden would serve a full eight years if re-elected.

“As you know, we take following the law seriously. So I wanted to be sure that I didn't go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law. But I can confirm that if re-elected, @POTUS would serve all 8 years,” she said.

The Biden campaign, meanwhile, is embracing the “Dark Brandon” memes popularised around key policy victories for the president.

Key Points

• Biden announces new White House bid with attack on ‘MAGA extremists'
• Trump launches blistering attack on Biden’s America
• Poll says Americans don’t want Trump or Biden to run again
• Biden expected to tap senior adviser to run re-election campaign
• President’s top domestic policy adviser leaves role

[24 April 2023 18:10 · Joe Sommerlad]

Who’s who in the Biden family?

You know the president and first lady, but here’s a guide to the wider Biden clan.

[24 April 2023 18:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

Polls says Americans don’t want Trump or Biden to run again

With the 2024 presidential election shaping up to be a repeat of the 2020 matchup between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Americans are less than enhused about the prospect of a rematch.

A recent Hart Research poll commissioned by NBC News found significant majorities of Americans would prefer that Mr Trump and Mr Biden both stand down rather than compete for a second term at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Andrew Feinberg has the details.

[24 April 2023 19:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

Have Republicans successfully dug up any dirt on the Bidens?

With the president poised to announce that he is officially seeking re-election this week, Republicans in Congress have been busy conducting investigations that they hope will tarnish the 46th president’s public image enough to convince voters that former president Donald Trump — not his successor — deserves four more years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Since taking over the House of Representatives in January, GOP committee chairs have sent out flurries of document requests and subpoenas to further their probes, and many have taken to Fox News and other friendly television outlets to claim they’ve uncovered heinous wrongdoing and are preparing to expose it to the world.

So far, they haven’t surfaced any smoking gun of wrongdoing.

Andrew Feinberg has more.

[24 April 2023 20:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden’s top domestic policy adviser departing

President Joe Biden said Monday that his top domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, will leave her post next month.

As director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Rice had broad sway on the administration’s approach to health care, immigration and racial inequality.

Read more...

[24 April 2023 21:10 · Oliver O'Connell]

Teaching should not be ‘life-threatening’ job, says Biden

President Joe Biden honored the nation’s best teachers Monday, saying they go above and beyond by providing food and supplies out of their own pockets and often find themselves “explaining the unexplainable, from banned books to duck-and-cover drills.”

“Teaching should not be a life-threatening profession,” Biden said, referencing deadly school shootings that plague the United States. “And educators should not need to be armed to feel safe in the classroom.”

Read more...

[24 April 2023 21:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden to unveil new efforts to protect South Korea from nuclear attack

President Joe Biden will use this week’s celebratory state visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to underscore that the U.S. is ready to step up its efforts to deter a North Korean attack on South Korea, according to senior administration officials.

Read more...

[24 April 2023 22:10 · Oliver O'Connell]

[24 April 2023 22:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden expected to tap senior White House adviser to run 2024 campaign

President Joe Biden is expected to tap Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior White House adviser, to manage his reelection campaign, according to a person familiar with deliberations on the matter.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Chavez Rodriguez’s appointment has not been finalized and Biden has yet to formally launch his reelection campaign.

Aamer Madhani reports.

[24 April 2023 23:10 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden hails Tennessee lawmakers attacked by GOP over gun control push

President Joe Biden on Monday welcomed the “Tennessee Three” — the trio of state lawmakers who were targeted by GOP leadership after leading gun control protests in the state capital — to the White House, and hailed them for ”standing up for our kids” during a meeting in the Oval Office.

Mr Biden also condemned state Republicans in Tennessee while speaking with state legislators Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson. Mr Pearson and Mr Jones — who are both Black men — were briefly expelled from their legislative seats by the GOP supermajority that controls the Tennessee House of Representatives, while Ms Johnson, a white woman, was spared by one vote.

“What the Republican legislature did was shocking, it was undemocratic,” said the president.

[24 April 2023 23:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

Biden 2024: Campaign hiding in plain sight

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has been hiding in plain sight all along.

The contours of the 2024 campaign that Biden will formally launch with a video as soon as this week will look a lot like his messaging and policy moves from the past few months: Play up accomplishments from his first two years, draw a sharp contrast with Republican policies he deems extreme, and brush off worries about his age.

Biden, aides contend, has essentially been campaigning since Republicans took control of the House last year, focused on showing Americans how his administration is implementing massive new infrastructure, technology and climate laws, and portraying Republicans as in the grip of the far right at a time when Washington is nearing a crucial fight over raising the nation’s borrowing limit.

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