Biden announces 2024 reelection campaign

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced officially that he will run for reelection in 2024, casting himself as an advocate for “freedom” against conservative attempts to limit rights at both the federal and state levels.

“Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There is nothing more important, nothing more sacred,” Biden says in an announcement video posted to his official campaign website that heavily featured footage of Vice President Kamala Harris but never mentioned her by name until the final “Biden Harris” tag appeared on screen. “That’s been the work of my first term, to fight for our democracy.”

The video highlights footage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump intercut with photos of Republican lawmakers Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. It shows images that referenced abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, voting rights, and Social Security, and shows Biden, Harris, and their spouses meeting with individuals and groups of people.

Leading up to the announcement, Biden says: “The question we’re facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer. 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.”

During his first term, Biden has overseen the passage of major legislation and the reversal of many Trump-era policies.

Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law on March 11, 2021, after it passed in both chambers of Congress, in which Democrats held majorities during the first two years of his presidency.

The law contained $1.9 trillion in economic stimulus funding designed to counteract the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. States used $350 billion of the funds to pay essential workers, provide grants for small businesses, fund police and fire departments, and extend Medicaid coverage.

Since the plan was implemented, the unemployment rate has dropped from 6.3% in January 2021 to 3.5% in March 2023. More than 10.7 million jobs have been added to the economy under Biden’s policies.

In November 2021, Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is financing projects across the country to repair and upgrade infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The law has also provided funds to construct a network of electric vehicle charging stations along 53,000 miles of interstate highways.

Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Aug. 16, 2022. The law put $369 billion toward green investments and imposed new limits on the costs of many prescription drugs covered by Medicare. The CHIPS and Science Act, signed on Aug. 9 of that year, provided $280 billion to grow the U.S. semiconductor industry in a bid to keep up with nations like China, where domestic investment has put the industry in a dominant position on the global market.

Biden has reversed many of the right-wing policies instituted under Trump.

Biden returned the U.S. to the Paris climate accord, reversed the ban on transgender military service, and restored environmental protections to thousands of miles of government territory.

Biden has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the NATO alliance’s mission of securing peace in Europe, working to repair a relationship damaged by years of U.S. criticism of the alliance under Trump.

While Trump was conciliatory toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden has sharply criticized Russian leadership and is vocally supportive of Ukraine’s efforts against the Russian invasion that started in February 2022. The U.S. has continued to be a major supplier of arms and equipment to Ukraine.

After the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Biden condemned the decision and issued executive orders designed to protect abortion rights. Biden has called on Congress to pass federal legislation protecting abortion access.

While Republicans were successful in securing a narrow majority in the House in the 2022 elections, the party was unable to generate the “red wave” of voters meant to be a rebuke of Biden’s leadership. During the 2022 election cycle, Biden frequently spoke out against Republican candidates promoting election falsehoods and the Republican Party’s embrace of far-right extremism.

Biden is facing multiple Democratic challengers, but historically a sitting president wins their party’s nomination. Marianne Williamson, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 2020, announced her bid for the party’s nomination March 4, and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his bid on April 5.

On the Republican side, Trump leads a field that so far also includes former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are expected to run as well.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.