Biden rolled out his campaign launch amid wide speculation that he would be gearing up for a second bid. He reaffirmed in interviews as recent as this month that he would be running, and the launch puts any doubts of whether the president would do so to rest.
The campaign launch comes amid signs that Trump is solidifying his hold on the GOP. Florida House Republicans have steadily offered their endorsements to Trump – a major blow to presumptive White House contender and chief Trump rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who only racked up a few endorsements from the state's delegation.
Trump received another key endorsement this week from Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), the chair of the Senate Republicans' campaign arm – a notable endorsement given that many of Trump's Senate contenders in battleground races lost last cycle.
Polling, too, has suggested that the former president holds a commanding lead over other announced and potential rivals, including DeSantis, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
And while Biden has several primary challengers — progressive Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and prominent anti-vaccine activist — they're considered longshot bids. As The Hill's Hanna Trudo and Amie Parnes note, Biden has largely avoided what could have become an ugly presidential primary battle.
"We 'settled' on him because he's done a ton of shit that is popular with every part of the Democratic Party and independents, and he is going to beat Trump again," Democratic strategist Eddie Vale told Hanna and Amie.
"No one ran against him because they know it's all just general Democratic complaining and no [actual] Democratic voters are going to vote for someone else in a primary," he added.
While Democrats are eager to see Trump as the GOP nominee heading into 2024, as our Brett Samuels writes, that doesn't mean voters are eager to see a 2020 campaign redux between Trump and Biden.
"There aren't going to be that many people excited about a rematch because there aren't that many people who want both of these people running for president,"David Hopkins, an author and political science professor at Boston College, told Brett.
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