U.S. President Joe Biden officially launched his re-election campaign Tuesday, appealing to voters in a video to grant him more time to “finish the job” his administration began two years ago.

The official candidates from the country’s two main political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, will not be selected for more than a year, just months ahead of the November 2024 election.

But Biden’s incumbent status means it would be unlikely, given precedent, that Democrats would select someone else as their candidate.  He defeated Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 election to earn his first term in office.

Trump refused to accept the results of the election, making baseless claims of election fraud. A mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to certify the election in January 2021, and Biden’s campaign used scenes from the assault to begin Tuesday’s announcement.

“Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they have to defend democracy,” Biden said.  “Stand up for our personal freedoms.  Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights.”

He cast Republicans as working to restrict access to abortions, cut Social Security, limit voting rights and “telling people who they can love.”

Biden, who was the nation’s oldest president at the time of his inauguration, has downplayed concerns about his age ahead of another presidential campaign.  He would be 82 years old at the start of a new term.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
…