President Joe Biden announced Tuesday he’s seeking a second term in the White House, kicking Hollywood into action on helping fund his reelection bid for 2024 — and potentially setting in motion a rematch with Republican hopeful Donald Trump.
In a video, Biden warned that “this is not a time to be complacent” and emphasized that “personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans.” The three-minute spot also called out “MAGA extremists” who are “lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms.”
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we were in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said in his video announcement. “The question we’re facing is whether in the years ahead, we have more freedom or less freedom — more rights or fewer.”
Watch the video via Biden’s official Twitter account below.
Some Democratic strategists believe Biden is the party’s best hope to defeat Trump in the next election, with Hollywood’s top political fundraiser — Jeffrey Katzenberg — on board to rally support.
Right now Trump is the leading Republican candidate, having kicked off his campaign in November. Even Trump’s arraignment earlier this month in New York following “hush money” payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels did not slow his campaign roll. In fact, Trump’s support among Republican voters surged from 43.8% to 56.2% around the time of the arraignment, according to a Trafalgar Group survey. That poll showed Florida governor Ron DeSantis, the next leading GOP contender, losing 10 points during the same period.
The numbers began to shift the day it went public that Trump’s arraignment was pending, from charges in New York concerning the use of campaign funds for a $130,000 payment to Daniels before the 2016 election.
Trump responded to Biden’s announcement by repeating his allegations that the 2020 election was stolen.
“With such a calamitous and failed presidency, it is almost inconceivable that Biden would even think of running for reelection,” Trump said in a video statement posted on his Truth Social website. “You know what happened in the last election: They cheated, and they rigged the election.”
He added: “I promise you this: When I stand on that debate stage and compare our records, it will be Radical Democrats’ worst nightmare because there’s never been a record as bad as they have, and our country has never been through so much. There has never been a greater contrast between two successive administrations in all of American history. Ours being greatness, and theirs being failure.”
