President Joe Biden has singled out far-right Republicans Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene in his 2024 reelection video where he warned about the threat of “MAGA extremists” on American democracy and freedom.
The Democratic president, 80, launched his reelection bid on Tuesday morning with the release of a three-minute video poignantly titled “Freedom”.
In the video, which was posted on social media at around 6am ET, Mr Biden warns Americans that “this is our moment” to stand up for peoples’ rights – pointing to Republican attacks on abortion rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights and the efforts by pro-Trump supporters to overturn the 2020 presidential election during the January 6 Capitol riot.
“Around the country MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms,” he says.
“Cutting Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy. Dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love.
“All while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote.”
During this warning, images of far-right extremists and depictions of right-wing attacks flash across the screen.
One photo shows a closeup of MAGA diehard Mr Gaetz’s eye, while another shows Ms Greene during the moment that she heckled Mr Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this year.
The video also shows the January 6 Capitol riot and Mr Trump shaking hands with Ron DeSantis – the man believed to be Mr Trump’s biggest Republican rival in the race – as he warns that America is in a battle for its “soul”.
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are.
“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’m running for re-election.”
Mr Biden’s relection campaign video heavily focuses on his warning that America’s rights are under attack from the right as he urges voters to give him a second term in the White House to “finish the job”.
“Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” he says.
“There’s nothing more important, nothing more sacred. That’s been the work of my first term to fight for our democracy, to protect our rights, to make sure that everyone in this country is treated equally and that everyone is given a fair shot at making it.”
The launch of his campaign comes exactly four years to the day that he announced his first presidential bid back on 25 April 2019 and – at 80 – makes him the oldest candidate in American history to ever make a reelection bid.
He has been teasing his 2024 bid for some time, telling reporters on a trip to Ireland in early April that he would make an announcement “relatively soon”.
Then on Monday, when asked by reporters if – and when – he would be throwing his hat into the ring, he replied: “I told you I’m planning on running. I’ll let you know real soon.”
Following his announcement, the US is now shaping up to see a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, when Mr Biden beat Mr Trump in the Republican’s quest for a second term.
Mr Trump launched his presidential election campaign – his third – in November, aiming to become the second-ever commander-in-chief to be elected in two non-consecutive terms.
But, based on recent polls, a 2020 rematch does not appear to be what the American people currently want.
A Hart Research poll commissioned by NBC News found that 70 per cent of Americans – including a 51 per cent majority of Democrats – don’t think Mr Biden should run for another term.
Meanwhile, 60 per cent of respondents, including 33 per cent of Republicans, also think that Mr Trump should step aside as well.
For some time, Mr Biden’s approval rating has also been dismal, sitting in the low 40s.
Yet despite the ratings, Mr Biden is believed to have been spurred to enter the race following the Democrats’ stronger than expected performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
Historically, the party in power performs poorly in midterm elections but, in November, Democrats held control of the senate while Republicans’ expected “red wave” failed to materialise.
Mr Biden is also asking voters to put aside concerns – that have been ramped up by his Republican rivals – about his age and give him four more years to complete his promise to heal the “soul of the nation” when he entered the race in 2019.
Mr Biden is believed to be preparing to tap White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Julie Chavez Rodriguez to head up his reelection campaign.
Ms Rodriguez was the deputy campaign manager of the president’s successful 2020 campaign.
