Although it’s obviously not exactly surprising, former President Barack Obama promptly shared a message of support for the re-election campaign unveiled Tuesday by Joe Biden, Obama’s own former vice president.
Biden had previously indicated an intention to run for another term, but the formal roll-out of a re-election campaign didn’t come until Tuesday. At this stage, it seems more likely than not that the match-up in the 2024 general election will once again be Biden facing Donald Trump, as any reasonable prospect of a primary challenge to Trump among Republicans has quickly faded. Trump has been accumulating endorsements from established party figures, and the only contender ever seen as a potentially serious challenger to Trump — Florida’s Ron DeSantis — is floundering, dipping in some polling data and miring himself in PR debacles like his allegiance to the suppressive politics around abortion to which Trump himself has credited some of Republicans’ electoral struggles. For once in his life, Trump maybe wasn’t actually all that wrong.
“Proud of all that @JoeBiden and his administration have accomplished these last few years,” Obama wrote Tuesday on Twitter. “He’s delivered for the American people — and he’ll continue to do so once he’s re-elected. Let’s get to work!” The former president also included a link to Biden’s campaign website.
Obama shared and was replying to a campaign video from the president, casting his run for another term as part of an effort to defend “freedom,” whether in the context of voting rights, access to healthcare, protections for LGBTQ+ Americans, or other major areas. The ad also included footage from the Capitol riot and of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and DeSantis himself, helping establish the brand of politics with which Biden and his team contrast so strikingly. Considering how closely Trump and Greene continue to attach themselves to participants in the deadly Capitol attack, it’s not even a stretch for the ad from Biden’s team to include clips of the violence. This is what MAGA stands for!
Among Democrats, Biden likely won’t be facing any major primary challenges. So far, Marianne Williamson, who has a career in self-help, announced a campaign, as did Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who despite his name and family background isn’t generally liked among the Democrats, as he has fashioned himself as a leading voice in anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
Check out the ad below:
Proud of all that @JoeBiden and his administration have accomplished these last few years. He’s delivered for the American people — and he’ll continue to do so once he’s re-elected.
Let’s get to work! https://t.co/eEt7bAueIT https://t.co/uBMyS1QQ0V
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 25, 2023
