By Aneri Upadhyay
Staff Writer
On April 25, President Joe Biden announced he is running for reelection in 2024.
Biden is already the oldest sitting president at 80 years old and would be 86 at the end of a second term. According to AP News, he is hopeful his accomplishments during the first term and vast experience will take precedence over scrutinies surrounding his age.
As outlined by the White House, some of these past accomplishments include the Inflation Reduction Act, pardons of prior federal offenses of marijuana possession and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
In an announcement, Biden spoke of his desire to stay president for four more years, as reported by AP News.
“We — you and I — together we’re turning things around and we’re doing it in a big way,” he stated. “It’s time to finish the job.”
In the video launching his reelection campaign, Biden focused on safe access to abortion in the United States, stating that “personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans”.
Vice President Kamala Harris echoed this sentiment at a rally at Howard University.
“Our hard-won freedoms are under attack,” Harris said, “and this is a moment for us to stand and fight.”
Biden also focused on fighting against Republicans who he said were trying to take “personal freedom” away. Other than abortion, the freedoms he focused on included Social Security, voting rights and controversial books.
As reported by CBS, Republicans who have officially launched campaigns include Former President Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Larry Elder and Asa Hutchinson. They are hopeful that they can beat Biden in the upcoming election.
According to a poll conducted by AP-NORC, 41% of Democrats said that they would definitely support Biden in the 2024 election, while 40% said that they would probably support him. 19% of Democrats that took the poll said that they would not support Biden if he ran again.
Doctors confirmed that Biden is healthy enough to run for another term, despite his age. As reported by Reuters, Biden underwent a physical examination that ended with the removal of a lesion from his chest.
White House physician Kevin O'Connor spoke on the examination, stating that “the president remains fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
According to PBS, Biden’s reelection announcement comes exactly four years after Biden declared his campaign for the White House in 2019.
“I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden stated. “The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.”
At a news conference with South Korea’s president, Biden addressed some concerns with him running that people may have.
As reported by AP News, he specifically commented on concerns regarding his age.
“I can’t even guess how old I am,” he said. “I can’t even say the number, it doesn’t register with me. The only thing I can say is they’re going to see a race and they’re going to judge whether I have or don’t have it.”
