Politics
80-year-old Joe Biden announces 2024 re-election bid
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday he is running for re-election in 2024, plunging at the record age of 80 into a ferocious new White House campaign “to finish the job.”
“Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms,” Biden wrote on Twitter, along with a video.
“I believe this is ours. That’s why I’m running for re-election as president of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job.”
After a series of big legislative wins and momentous foreign policy struggles in his first two years in office, Biden has no real challenger from within the Democratic Party.
But in a campaign that may result in a rematch of the 2020 election against Donald Trump, he is expected to face constant and fierce scrutiny over his age.
The veteran Democrat would be 86 by the end of a second term. Even if a medical exam in February found him “fit” to execute the duties of the presidency, many including in his own voter base believe he is too old.
An NBC News poll released over the weekend found that 70 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of Democrats, believe he should not run.
Sixty-nine percent of all respondents who said he shouldn’t run cited concerns over his age as a major or minor reason.
Biden likes to answer those concerns by saying, “watch me” — meaning that voters should focus on his policy wins at home and his marshaling of an unprecedented Western alliance to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
Over the next year and a half, Biden will have all the advantages of incumbency, backed by a united party, while Republicans are only just starting a messy primary season.
Trump, despite becoming the first former or serving president to be criminally indicted — and facing probes into his attempt to overturn his loss to Biden in the 2020 election — is the overwhelming Republican frontrunner.
On Monday, Trump was quick to pitch in his own criticism of the man who defeated him last time around.
“With such a calamitous and failed presidency, it is almost inconceivable that Biden would even think of running for reelection,” he said in a statement.
The most likely Republican challenger to the 76-year-old Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, presents a similarly right-wing figure, though starkly younger at 44.
– ‘Rebuilding the middle class’ –
Biden will underline his foreign policy credentials Tuesday when he meets with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is starting a state visit to the White House.
Like in 2020, Biden’s video message framed his election bid as a fight to save American democracy from Trump and increasingly far-right Republicans. However, he also stressed his message of restoring an economy with heavy focus on the manufacturing base and jobs for the middle class.
Later Tuesday he was scheduled to deliver an economic address to a union conference being held in Washington.
While not a campaign event, the scheduled theme — “how his investing in America agenda is bringing manufacturing back, rebuilding the middle class, and creating good-paying union jobs” — was set to be at the heart of the Democrat’s 2024 message.
– Bland but comforting? –
Biden’s approval ratings have not topped 50 percent for more than a year and a half.
However, he has consistently over-delivered when it matters. Supporters say the Democratic Party’s surprisingly strong performance in 2022 midterm congressional elections validated the Biden brand.
And while Biden may seem bland in comparison to Trump, he would bank on his moderate, old fashioned image being the secret weapon needed in an increasingly extreme era.
“My dad had an expression,” Biden often says. “‘Joey, don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.’”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has called on Governor Seyi Makinde to resign immediately, alleging that his recent remarks on state security exposed incompetence and an inability to lead.
Governor Makinde, speaking during his acceptance speech as the Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Ibadan on Saturday, lamented that he could do little to rescue abducted school children and residents in Oriire Local Government Area due to all security structures being under federal control.
Reacting, APC State Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, described the governor’s comments as “the height of cluelessness, insincerity, and criminal ineptitude,” warning that such disclosures reflect a dangerous trend among parochial leaders.
Sadare said, “Engr. Seyi Makinde could not find any fault in the nation’s Constitution, yet he swore twice to protect lives and properties of Oyo people. He has long enjoyed the powers of his office, controlling resources and people without challenge, but now faces a serious test, exposing incompetence, cluelessness, and ego.”
He added, “Instead of addressing security challenges, Makinde is exploiting the situation to push a mirage he calls a presidential ambition in 2027. His insensitive comments once again reveal hypocrisy. It is time he quit the office of the governor, having admitted he lacks the capacity to secure the state.”
The APC also recalled that previous governors, including Alhaji Lam Adesina, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, and the late Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, operated under the same constitutional provisions without similar security failures. Sadare particularly praised Ajimobi for establishing a Security Trust Fund to ensure funding and stakeholder involvement in security, in contrast to the current administration.
“Makinde’s presidential ambition is dead on arrival. Our concern is the continued loss, deprivation, and mismanagement the people of Oyo may suffer in the remaining year of his tenure. The state deserves a team player, a sincere and humble governor — qualities Makinde has failed to demonstrate in seven years. He should apologise and step down,” Sadare concluded.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Saturday emerged as the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for the 2027 general election following the conclusion of the party’s presidential nomination process.
Makinde emerged through consensus and affirmation by party delegates during the exercise, in what party leaders described as a demonstration of unity and confidence in his leadership ahead of the next general elections.
The governor was presented with his Certificate of Return by the National Chairman of the APM, Alhaji Yusuf Dantali, during a ceremony held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, amid cheers from party faithful, delegates and supporters drawn from different parts of the country.
Speaking during the presentation, Dantali said Makinde possesses the leadership qualities, administrative experience and vision required to steer the country towards sustainable growth and national development.
He urged party members across the federation to close ranks and intensify grassroots mobilisation to ensure victory for the party in the 2027 presidential election.
The APM national chairman maintained that the party remained committed to presenting Nigerians with what he described as a credible alternative capable of addressing the country’s economic, security and governance challenges.
According to him, the emergence of Makinde as the party’s flag bearer marked the beginning of a new political movement aimed at restoring hope and strengthening democratic governance in the country.
In his acceptance speech, Governor Makinde expressed appreciation to the leadership of the party and delegates for the confidence reposed in him, pledging to work with stakeholders across political, ethnic and religious divides to advance the party’s vision for national transformation.
The governor assured party supporters of his commitment to inclusive leadership, promising to prioritise policies that would improve economic prosperity, strengthen institutions and enhance the welfare of Nigerians if elected.
Five key members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State have been appointed to the party’s campaign committee for the 2026 governorship re-election of Governor Abiodun Oyebanji in Ekiti State.
The Oyo APC leaders on the list include the party’s governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, former Senate leader Teslim Folarin, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, Zacch Adedeji, and Remi Oseni.
The list, signed by the party’s National Secretary, Sen. Ajibola Basiru, reflects the APC’s strategy of deploying experienced political figures with strong grassroots networks to ensure a successful re-election campaign in Ekiti.
“These appointments recognise their political experience and commitment to advancing the party’s agenda,” the source within the party said.
The APC committee is expected to coordinate campaign activities, voter engagement, and messaging, positioning the party for a strong showing in the 2026 governorship election.
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