The Making of the President 2024: Joe Biden
Would he or wouldn't he? Would Joe Biden seek a second term in office, or was he too old? That was the question many pondered for a long time. For months Biden teased a run for a second term. Finally, on April 25, 2023, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the 46th president of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president, making the announcement with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate.
In May 2021, Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain had indicated the Biden administration was "anticipating a bruising general election matchup" against Donald Trump, the man who had been defeated by Biden in the 2020 presidential election, that us if Trump followed through on a bid to return to the presidency. In November 2021, in spite of declining approval ratings, the Biden White House reiterated Biden's intent to run for reelection. In a March 2022 press conference, when asked about the possibility that Trump could be his opponent in 2024, Biden replied, "I'd be very fortunate if I had that same man running against me."
On September 2, 2022, in a nationally broadcast Philadelphia speech, Biden called for a "battle for the soul of the nation". Later, he called Trump supporters "semi-fascists." A predicted Republican wave in the mid-term elections failed to materialize and the race for U.S. Congress control was much closer than expected, with Republicans securing only a slim majority of 222 seats in the House of Representatives, and the Democratic caucus keeping control of the U.S. Senate, with 51 seats, a gain of one seat from the last Congress. Many saw this as a victory for Biden, and a defeat for Trump, as many of Trump's hand-picked high profile candidates lost their bid for senate seats resulting in the Republicans failing to win the Senate.
In a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll released on April 25, 2023 - the day Biden announced his reelection campaign - his approval rating was just 41%, and his disapproval rating was at 50%. A CBS News poll released the same day also found Biden's approval rating to be 41%, but also found that Harris's approval rating at 43% and that 72% of respondents believed things in the U.S. were "out of control." The same poll found that 71% of respondents who said so included 33% of Democrats, and that they blamed Biden as the primary cause. Several polls both before and after Biden's campaign announcement have shown that most Democrats want the party to nominate someone other than Biden for president in the 2024 election.
This will be Biden's fourth presidential campaign, and his first as an incumbent. His first campaign was in the 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries, where he was initially considered one of the strongest candidates. Then a scandal broke when newspapers revealed plagiarism by Biden in law school records and in speeches, which led to his withdrawal from the race in September 1987. He made a second attempt during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, where he focused on his plan to achieve political success in the Iraq War through a system of federalization. Like his first presidential bid, Biden failed to garner a sufficient level of endorsements and support. He withdrew from the race after his poor performance in the Iowa caucus on January 3, 2008. He was eventually chosen by Barack Obama as his running mate and won the general election, and was sworn in as vice president of the United States on January 20, 2009. He continued as Obama's running mate and was re-elected vice president in 2012, being sworn in for second term on January 20, 2013, and serving until January 20, 2017.
Biden's third presidential bid came during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries where he focused his plans as the candidate with the best chance of defeating then-president Donald Trump in the general election. In the campaign Biden rejected a proposition that he commit to serving only one term as president.
On November 2, 2022, while packing files at the Penn Biden Center, Biden's attorneys found classified documents dating to his vice presidency in a locked closet. According to the White House, the documents were reported that day to the U.S. National Archives, which recovered the documents the next day. On December 20, a second batch of classified documents was discovered in the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware residence. In January 2023, these findings were made public, and on January 12, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert K. Hur as special counsel to investigate "possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records". On January 20, after a 13-hour consensual search by FBI investigators, six more items with classified markings were recovered from Biden's Wilmington residence.
On February 20, 2023, four days before the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. While there, he promised more military aid to Ukraine and denounced the war. The trip was unannounced, and involved major security coordination to ensure safety.
On April 25, 2023, Biden announced he was running for re-election. It was also announced that Julie Chávez Rodriguez would serve as campaign manager and Quentin Fulks would be principal deputy campaign manager. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Jim Clyburn, Chris Coons, Tammy Duckworth, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Gretchen Whitmer were named national campaign co-chairs. Biden's campaign was launched four years to the day after the start of his 2020 presidential campaign.
Biden formally kicked off his reelection campaign on June 17, 2023 at a union rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Conservative news outlets have questioned Biden's cognitive fitness and raised the possibility that he has dementia. Donald Trump has claimed that Biden has dementia and has pejoratively referred to him as "Sleepy Joe" at rallies. Some media outlets who point to Joe Biden's public refusal to take any kind of competency test as proof that he is not competent. Biden often confuses what he means to say. For example, earlier this week he mistakenly referred to the war in Ukraine, telling reporters that "Putin in losing the war in Iraq." Time magazine has referred to these as Biden's "foot-in-mouth disease."
A second problem for Biden has been the activities of his son Hunter, whose tax affairs have been under federal criminal investigation since late 2018. On June 20, 2023, Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges for filing two years of his taxes late. The taxes were over $100,000 each year, but have now been paid in full. Hunter also agreed to admit to "illegally owning a gun while a drug user", because he knowingly denied drug use when applying for a gun purchase permit.
In spite of these things, Biden enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls when it comes to winning his party's nomination for President in 2024. Real Clear Politics (RCP)'s aggregate of poll numbers has Biden with nearly a 50% lead over his nearest challenger, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. These polls show biden with 64% support with Kennedy in second place at 14.4%. In a head to head race with Trump, RCP's poll numbers are close, with Trump having a 0.6% lead (Trump is at 44.1% and Biden is at 43.5%.) A lot can happen between now and next year's nominating conventions, but right now it looks like 2024 will offer voters a Trump vs. Biden rematch.
In May 2021, Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain had indicated the Biden administration was "anticipating a bruising general election matchup" against Donald Trump, the man who had been defeated by Biden in the 2020 presidential election, that us if Trump followed through on a bid to return to the presidency. In November 2021, in spite of declining approval ratings, the Biden White House reiterated Biden's intent to run for reelection. In a March 2022 press conference, when asked about the possibility that Trump could be his opponent in 2024, Biden replied, "I'd be very fortunate if I had that same man running against me."
On September 2, 2022, in a nationally broadcast Philadelphia speech, Biden called for a "battle for the soul of the nation". Later, he called Trump supporters "semi-fascists." A predicted Republican wave in the mid-term elections failed to materialize and the race for U.S. Congress control was much closer than expected, with Republicans securing only a slim majority of 222 seats in the House of Representatives, and the Democratic caucus keeping control of the U.S. Senate, with 51 seats, a gain of one seat from the last Congress. Many saw this as a victory for Biden, and a defeat for Trump, as many of Trump's hand-picked high profile candidates lost their bid for senate seats resulting in the Republicans failing to win the Senate.
In a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll released on April 25, 2023 - the day Biden announced his reelection campaign - his approval rating was just 41%, and his disapproval rating was at 50%. A CBS News poll released the same day also found Biden's approval rating to be 41%, but also found that Harris's approval rating at 43% and that 72% of respondents believed things in the U.S. were "out of control." The same poll found that 71% of respondents who said so included 33% of Democrats, and that they blamed Biden as the primary cause. Several polls both before and after Biden's campaign announcement have shown that most Democrats want the party to nominate someone other than Biden for president in the 2024 election.
This will be Biden's fourth presidential campaign, and his first as an incumbent. His first campaign was in the 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries, where he was initially considered one of the strongest candidates. Then a scandal broke when newspapers revealed plagiarism by Biden in law school records and in speeches, which led to his withdrawal from the race in September 1987. He made a second attempt during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, where he focused on his plan to achieve political success in the Iraq War through a system of federalization. Like his first presidential bid, Biden failed to garner a sufficient level of endorsements and support. He withdrew from the race after his poor performance in the Iowa caucus on January 3, 2008. He was eventually chosen by Barack Obama as his running mate and won the general election, and was sworn in as vice president of the United States on January 20, 2009. He continued as Obama's running mate and was re-elected vice president in 2012, being sworn in for second term on January 20, 2013, and serving until January 20, 2017.
Biden's third presidential bid came during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries where he focused his plans as the candidate with the best chance of defeating then-president Donald Trump in the general election. In the campaign Biden rejected a proposition that he commit to serving only one term as president.
On November 2, 2022, while packing files at the Penn Biden Center, Biden's attorneys found classified documents dating to his vice presidency in a locked closet. According to the White House, the documents were reported that day to the U.S. National Archives, which recovered the documents the next day. On December 20, a second batch of classified documents was discovered in the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware residence. In January 2023, these findings were made public, and on January 12, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert K. Hur as special counsel to investigate "possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records". On January 20, after a 13-hour consensual search by FBI investigators, six more items with classified markings were recovered from Biden's Wilmington residence.
On February 20, 2023, four days before the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. While there, he promised more military aid to Ukraine and denounced the war. The trip was unannounced, and involved major security coordination to ensure safety.
On April 25, 2023, Biden announced he was running for re-election. It was also announced that Julie Chávez Rodriguez would serve as campaign manager and Quentin Fulks would be principal deputy campaign manager. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Jim Clyburn, Chris Coons, Tammy Duckworth, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Gretchen Whitmer were named national campaign co-chairs. Biden's campaign was launched four years to the day after the start of his 2020 presidential campaign.
Biden formally kicked off his reelection campaign on June 17, 2023 at a union rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Conservative news outlets have questioned Biden's cognitive fitness and raised the possibility that he has dementia. Donald Trump has claimed that Biden has dementia and has pejoratively referred to him as "Sleepy Joe" at rallies. Some media outlets who point to Joe Biden's public refusal to take any kind of competency test as proof that he is not competent. Biden often confuses what he means to say. For example, earlier this week he mistakenly referred to the war in Ukraine, telling reporters that "Putin in losing the war in Iraq." Time magazine has referred to these as Biden's "foot-in-mouth disease."
A second problem for Biden has been the activities of his son Hunter, whose tax affairs have been under federal criminal investigation since late 2018. On June 20, 2023, Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges for filing two years of his taxes late. The taxes were over $100,000 each year, but have now been paid in full. Hunter also agreed to admit to "illegally owning a gun while a drug user", because he knowingly denied drug use when applying for a gun purchase permit.
In spite of these things, Biden enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls when it comes to winning his party's nomination for President in 2024. Real Clear Politics (RCP)'s aggregate of poll numbers has Biden with nearly a 50% lead over his nearest challenger, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. These polls show biden with 64% support with Kennedy in second place at 14.4%. In a head to head race with Trump, RCP's poll numbers are close, with Trump having a 0.6% lead (Trump is at 44.1% and Biden is at 43.5%.) A lot can happen between now and next year's nominating conventions, but right now it looks like 2024 will offer voters a Trump vs. Biden rematch.