Biden readying plans to launch re-election bid after midterms

WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden is readying plans to launch his re-election bid after November's midterm congressional elections, according to multiple aides and allies, setting up a potential 2024 re-match with former president Donald Trump.

Mr Biden's resolve to mount a second White House bid is hardening even with polls showing most Democrats would prefer a candidate other than the 79-year-old president.

But those close to Mr Biden say he is buoyed by recent legislative, economic and foreign policy wins and committed to again deny Mr Trump a return to the Oval Office.

"The President has said he's planning on running again," said Ms Anita Dunn, a long-time aide who recently returned to the White House. "People should take him at his word."

Three congressional Democrats have suggested Mr Biden make way for a younger successor, while several more have pointedly declined to endorse his re-election.

Mr Biden's approval rating is only about 40 per cent, an analysis of polls by FiveThirtyEight shows. But allies say Mr Biden's determination has grown amid revelations about Mr Trump and his role in the Jan 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, as well as the former president's continued embrace by Republicans.

This week, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as part of a probe into whether he removed classified documents from the White House, and Mr Trump was deposed by New York's attorney-general over claims his businesses misled lenders.

Mr Biden frequently notes opinion polls that show him defeating Mr Trump head-to-head in a 2024 match-up, and believes he won the Democratic nomination in 2020 because he represented the best chance to remove the former president from power.

In a potential rematch, however, Mr Biden would be the incumbent, defending his record both on the economy and overseas while fending off Mr Trump and his still formidable and energised base of supporters.

Mr Biden may also not face Mr Trump at all, should the former president, who is 76, opt against a run or lose a primary challenge from a rising and younger Republican.

During a meeting with Democratic Party activists earlier this month, Mr Biden said he worried that the risk to democracy "hasn't diminished; if anything it's grown".

Mr Biden added he could not think of anything more important than making sure the party was in a position to win both the midterms "as well as 2024".

An actual announcement would come in the months after the midterms, but allies say the accelerated coordination with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which has poured resources into crucial swing states ahead of the November polls, is the surest public indication that Mr Biden is plotting a second run.

Strengthening the DNC has been a key priority for the President. The committee has raised over US$245 million (S$336 million) so far this election cycle - a midterm record for the party.

Mr Biden, recently recovered from Covid-19, is planning a more aggressive domestic travel schedule and more campaign-style events like town halls.

The strategy is primarily designed to promote his legislative achievements ahead of November. He signed the first gun-safety law in decades, as well as a measure authorising billions of dollars in subsidies for American semiconductor manufacturing. And a US$437 billion package to curb climate change, lower prescription drug prices and raise taxes on corporations is headed for Mr Biden's desk.

Late last month, he ordered a drone strike that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Recent inflation and employment data suggests continued strong economic growth and a tempering of oil and food prices.

Mr Biden's allies expect those developments to pay political dividends, and they point out that incumbent leaders across the globe are unpopular due to a worldwide struggle with post-pandemic inflation and the war in Ukraine.

But it is also aimed at subtly addressing concerns about Mr Biden's age that hang over his presidency and have prompted speculation about whether he would mount another campaign.

BLOOMBERG