Election campaign in the US: a duel between Trump and Biden is imminent

Joe Biden officially launched the election campaign by running for a second term as US president. While the 80-year-old is not the only Democratic candidate, his party lacks prominent competitors with serious prospects for success. Former President Donald Trump positioned himself among the Republicans in November. The competition in his party is much fiercer, but the 76-year-old leads internal party polls. In the presidential election of 2024, it could therefore be another duel between Biden and Trump. Enthusiasm about this is limited in the US.

Age is a political issue

Biden announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he would run again in the November 2024 election. He had won the 2020 presidential election against then-incumbent Trump and entered the White House in January 2021 as the oldest president ever. Biden will be 81 if elected in a year and a half, and he would be 86 at the end of a possible second term.

The White House tried Tuesday to dispel doubts about his eligibility because of his advanced age. “We’ve heard that over and over in 2020,” said Bidens spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. As chairman, he has achieved a lot in the past two years. When asked if Biden would serve the entire second term if re-elected, his spokeswoman initially responded evasively. Jean-Pierre said at the daily press conference that she did not want to get ahead of the president. She later wrote on Twitter that she was able to confirm that Biden would remain in office for eight years if re-elected.

Biden performs in front of a friendly audience

For his first post-announcement public appearance, Biden chose a union conference in Washington on Tuesday — an audience generally favorable to him. The mostly male and white spectators in the large event hall of a hotel in the American capital greeted him with convulsive applause. Cheers erupted again and again, the audience chanting “Let’s go, Joe”. Biden, who likes to describe himself as the most pro-union president in US history, seemed like an old friend here.

At least the message seemed to be getting across to the employee representatives. “He’s the most union-friendly president, at least in my life,” said David Webster of Atlanta, Georgia. Webster represents a painters union – and is not worried about Biden’s age. Biden is old, but so is Trump. Oregon trade unionist Travis Hopkins, who advocates for roofers, also saw it that way: “There are only four years left,” he said. Moreover, there is currently no one else among the Democrats who can compete with the Republicans.

Cautious response from the Democrats

Biden’s announcement had been anticipated for months. He had repeatedly made it clear that he wanted to remain president. So Biden does not have to fear prominent competition in his party – because in the US the incumbent usually has the privilege. Former US President John F. Kennedy’s cousin Robert F. Kennedy and author Marianne Williamson have so far filed applications for the Democratic nomination. You must not be dangerous to Biden.

Party leaders such as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who would have ambitions for the highest office in the state, are left behind. And even two-time Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced his support for Biden. The left-wing senator told the AP news agency that he would no longer run.

And so Democrats welcomed the president’s decision following Biden’s announcement — but great enthusiasm looks different. “I think when people look at President Biden and his strong record compared to the alternatives, they will vote for him,” said Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who brought Biden, like Whitmer, to his campaign team. Democratic ex-President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president from 2009 to 2017, wrote on Twitter: “I am proud of all that Joe Biden and his administration have accomplished in recent years.”

Duel expected between Trump and Biden

Unsurprisingly, Republicans responded with personal attacks on Biden. In addition to ex-President Trump, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and ex-Governor of the State of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson are also applying for the party’s presidential candidacy. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are also expected to throw their hats in the ring. Polls show that Trump has the best chance of winning the race in his party so far.

Surveys show that Americans are not particularly keen on another Biden-Trump duel. In a poll conducted by NBC in mid-April, only 26 percent of respondents said Biden should run as a presidential candidate. In Trump’s case, it was 35 percent.

Trump has been campaigning for months and wants to appear in the state of New Hampshire on Thursday. Biden will be reluctant to make such appearances for the time being: according to American media, the Democrat only really wants to start up the election campaign machine once the Republicans have completed their primaries. That will be next year. Until then, reports say, Biden wants to focus on his work as president. But the election campaign has already started. (oee/sda/dpa)