Joe Biden Makes It Official: He’s Running For Reelection; Jeffrey Katzenberg Among National Campaign Co-Chairs

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
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President Joe Biden made the official announcement Tuesday that he is running for reelection.

The announcement came in a three-minute launch video.

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“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we were in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” Biden says. “The question we are 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 am running for reelection.”

The video, coming four years to the day when Biden announced his 2020 bid, opened with images of the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

Biden then appears on screen and says, “Freedom — personal freedom is fundamental who we are as Americans. That’s been my work of the first term. To fight for our democracy.”

The video also features a slogan — “Let’s finish the job” — while it features multiple shots of the president with Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as the Biden-Harris logo.

Biden’s plans include a heavy fundraising push in anticipation of an expensive campaign. That will include outreach to small- and high-dollar donors. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has long been a top Democratic fundraiser, was named one of the national co-chairs, along with Rep. Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-DE), Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Julie Chávez Rodríguez will serve as campaign manager and Quentin Fulks will be principal deputy campaign manager.

Biden’s campaign hopes to counter concerns over his age, 80, and to reverse polls showing majorities do not want him to run again.

With Biden’s approval numbers still underwater, the White House has been emphasizing Biden’s record and accomplishments in the first two years of the term. The campaign appears to be preparing for the possibility of a rematch with Donald Trump, currently leading in the GOP polls. Even if it is not Trump, the Biden campaign likely will try to brand his opponent as too extreme, emphasizing the GOP’s shift to the far right and stance on issues like abortion and guns.

“Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take down those bedrock freedoms,” Biden said, with images of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“They are cutting Social Security that you paid for your entire life, while cutting taxes for the very wealthy. They are dictating what healthcare decisions people can make, banning books and telling people who they can love, all while making it more difficult for you to vote.”

Biden faces two unconventional rivals for the Democratic nomination: Self-help guru Marianne Williamson and Robert Kennedy Jr., a leader of the anti-vaccine movement.

The Republican National Committee responded with a video using AI-generated imagery to posit that another Biden-Harris term will lead the country to a dystopian future.

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