By Katherine Doyle and Monica Alba -
NBC News
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden made it official Tuesday that he is running for reelection in 2024, capping months of speculation about his plans four years after he announced his 2020 campaign.
In a video titled
Freedom
, which begins with a scene of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, followed by an image of an abortion rights protest, Biden said that after spending his first term fighting for the country's democracy , "MAGA extremists are lining up" to cut the social safety net and strip citizens of their personal liberties.
“Cut Social Security you've paid your entire life while cutting taxes on the very rich.
Dictate what health care decisions women can make, ban books, and tell people who they can love.
All while making it harder for you to be able to vote,” she stated.
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we were in a battle for the soul of America.
And we still are.
The question we face is whether in the coming years we will have more or less freedom.
More rights or less, ”she indicated, adding:“ This is not the time to rest on our laurels.
That's why I'm running for re-election."
The announcement of his candidacy is an effort to position Biden as the country's best hope of defeating a Republican opponent and cementing his Administration's successes heading into 2024.
The symmetry of the fourth anniversary is a fitting opening for a president who has drawn on history at key moments to present his vision to the American people about the road ahead.
Biden launched his 2019 campaign with a video as well, warning that another four years with Trump would “forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are,” and highlighting the 2017 violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. .
The video published this Tuesday does not mention Trump by name, although it suggests the specter of a rematch - and a recognition of the forces of Trumpism.
An image of Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump's staunchest supporters, and a photo of the former president with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, considered one of his main rivals for the Republican nomination, appear.
In his State of the Union address in February, Biden used the words “finish the job” more than a dozen times and warned that Republicans “want to take the economy hostage.”
She has time and again pointed out that the so-called MAGA Republicans, led by Trump, have “proposed huge cuts” to “programs that millions of working and middle-class Americans count on.”
That's part of the message that propelled Biden to win in 2020 and bolstered Democratic victories in the 2022 midterm elections that averted a "red wave" across the country.
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The schedule for the announcement has been changing.
Biden consulted with her family members during a vacation last year, and in December first lady Jill Biden said she was "all in" for another presidential run.
Still, Biden has weathered pressure to formalize his campaign entry, and has often seemed to resist any pressure to make it more urgent, even as preparations have intensified in recent weeks.
Asked on Monday about his plans, he told reporters at the Rosaleda: “I have already told you that I intend to introduce myself.
You will know very soon."
A visit to Ireland "reinforced" his decision to run again, Biden said this month.
Parts of the highly anticipated re-election video of him were recorded last weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where she has a home, after he returned from his trip to Ireland, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
NBC News, sister network to Noticias Telemundo, reported last week that Biden's biggest financial supporters planned to meet Friday in Washington, where his top aides will groom the Democratic Party's biggest donors and fundraisers to amplify campaign messages. and make sure allies are still lined up behind him.
Biden's initial fundraising in 2020 surpassed his rivals' sum at the time and was seen as an important metric for his campaign.
Democrats and other voters continue to view former Republican President Donald Trump as a threat, another parallel to Biden's winning 2020 campaign that some hope could help bolster his 2024 candidacy.
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“People continue to be concerned about the threat that Trump poses,” said Jeff Link, a top political strategist in Iowa and a veteran of Democratic presidential campaigns.
"Having a second Biden term is critical to making sure Trump doesn't come back to the White House," he added.
It's an appeal that Biden recognizes, Link said, and one that he has the power to reinforce with Americans who fear a second Trump term, even if they disagree on other issues.
“Biden uses that phrase 'Don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative,' and I think it's going to be very relevant,” Link said.