Joe Biden and Kamala Harris officially kick off their 2024 U.S. office re-election bid:  ‘Let’s finish the job’

U.S. President Joe Biden has officially announced he will run for a second term, after months of hinting at a likely re-election bid.

Biden launched his 2024 campaign in a 3-minute video posted to his Twitter account on Tuesday, April 25, which marks the 4-year anniversary of his successful 2020 campaign launch.

"When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” Biden could be heard saying in the video. “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,” Biden continued. “That’s why I’m running for re-election. Because I know America. I know we are good and decent people. And I know we are still a country that believes in honesty and respect, and treating each other with dignity. That we’re a nation where we give hate no safe harbor. And we believe that everyone is equal, and that everyone should be given a fair shot to succeed in this country."

Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms. I believe this is ours.

That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job. https://t.co/V9Mzpw8Sqy pic.twitter.com/Y4NXR6B8ly

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2023

The ad, titled ‘Freedom’, begins with footage from the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots in 2021 and features images from pro-abortion rallies, as well as former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Joined by Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate for the Democratic ticket, Biden added: “Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy, stand up for our personal freedoms, and stand up for our right to vote and our civil rights. This is ours. Let’s finish the job."

Biden’s announcement comes at a time when his approval ratings are almost at their lowest level since his presidency. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week revealed that only 39% of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing.

The 80-year-old U.S. chief received little support from young Americans, in particular. Only 36% of registered voters between the ages 18 and 29 approve of the president’s performance, according to a national poll conducted by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.

Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. If he wins, he would be 86 at the end of his second term in 2029.

Nearly seven in 10 registered voters (68%) say Biden is “too old for another term,” a Yahoo News/YouGov poll from March had concluded.

An NBC News poll, conducted prior to Biden’s announcement on Tuesday, found that 70% of U.S. citizens believe he should not seek re-election, and among those, 51% were Democrats. Half of the respondents who said he should not run again had cited his age as a major factor.

The same poll found that 60% of Americans, including one third of Republicans, believe that former President Trump (76) should not run again. Nevertheless, most U.S. voters (88%) replied that they will likely vote for either Trump or Biden in the 2024 general election.