President Joe Biden announced his bid for a second four-year term in a video posted online Tuesday morning, urging voters to let him “finish this job” and setting in motion the possibility of a rematch with former President Donald J. Trump.

In the three-minute, four-second video, Biden says he has spent his first years in office fighting for democracy and freedom. And he warns that “MAGA extremists” around the country — using Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan — threaten those freedo

“When I ran for President four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” Biden says in the video, adding later: “That’s why I’m running for re-election.”

The formal declaration of Biden’s candidacy comes four years to the day after he said he would seek the presidency in 2019, asserting at the time that it was vital to prevent Trump from winning a second term.

Biden succeeded in 2020. But if Trump becomes the Republican nominee — he is currently the front-runner — Biden’s legacy will be determined by whether he is able to once again block Trump’s return to power.

The President does not mention Trump by name in the video. But the subtext is clear — it starts with scenes of the January 6 assault on the Capitol. When Biden says the words “MAGA extremists”, the screen flashes a picture of Trump with his arm on the shoulder of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, another potential Republican rival.

“Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy,” Biden says. “Stand up for our personal freedo Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights. And this is our moment.”

Lashing out

Hours before Biden’s re-election announcement, Trump lashed out at the man he wants to replace in the Oval Office and sought to raise money for his own campaign.

In an email to his supporters sent Monday evening, Trump asked for money to “defeat Joe Biden in 2024”. He bashed Biden’s time as President, saying the five worst Presidents in American history “would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our Nation in just a few short years. Not even close.”

He went on to repeat a litany of grievances about immigration, Democrats, military officials and other familiar targets. Aides to Biden are working on the assumption that the President is likely to face Trump in the general election.

New York Times News Service