Although there was a speculation President Biden would announce his reelection race in order to remain in the White House, this did not materialize till April 25, which, in turn, made even more evident the possibility of a second confrontation with his old rival in 2020.
Aware of such a probability, Biden’s candidacy video appealed to Americans´ recent memory depicting images of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection by former President Donald Trump´s followers.
Biden´s message singled out as an enemy of the nation the extremists he repeatedly associates with the MAGA, Make America Great Again Trumpist current, and vowed to “fight for democracy and protect rights.”
However, some analysts acknowledge that he will have to overcome over one obstacle in his race if he wants to remain in the Oval Office, including some of them closely related to his own co-religionists.
Several polls and reports suggested that Democrats’ biggest problem with Joe Biden is not his performance in the office, but his age.
Biden was the longest-serving president as he took office in 2021 and, according to a USA Today/Suffolk poll, 42% of Democrats and voters in 2020 claimed his age could be a drawback for reelection.
Despite of doubts raised by his old age, observers strongly believe Democrats are likely to endorse him in the primaries.
“Elections work like Wall Street: fear and greed. And while Biden’s age may alter the greed part, Donald Trump´s prospects to win the presidential race again are enough to raise fear levels,” expert Allan Lichtman stated.
Judging by their statements, some GOPers with aspirations to become leaders of the nation do not seem too worried about Biden’s new candidacy.
Nachama Soloveichik, communications director for Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign, said her team welcomes the opportunity to contrast with the incumbent. “Joe Biden’s administration has been defined by weakness and incompetence,” she stated in a statement.
Trump also availed himself of this opportunity to discredit what could again be his opponent, by saying that after a calamitous and failed mandate, it is practically inconceivable Joe Biden would want to continue for four other years in the White House, so he called for Americans´ support to face present problems and even “prevent a Third World War”.
Beyond objections from conservative candidates, a real challenge for Biden is to improve his lackluster approval ratings, stuck at just over 42%.
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