Biden's team warily welcomes Trump's 2024 presidential run
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[November 17, 2022]
By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's
decision to jump into the 2024 race could help give Joe Biden a second
term in the White House, the Democratic president and his aides believe,
viewing his Republican predecessor as a vulnerable and defeated
politician even as they fret about the impact a bitter campaign could
have on America.
Several Biden aides and advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity,
gave their assessment of how the president and his team view Trump's
entry into the race. Trump made his announcement on Tuesday night as he
sought to get a jump on potential rivals for the Republican nomination.
Biden, who defeated Trump in the contentious 2020 election, thus far is
remaining mum publicly. When he and French President Emmanuel Macron
were asked by reporters at the G20 meeting in Bali if they had a
reaction to Trump's announcement, they looked at each other briefly and
shared a faint smile.
"Not really," Biden said, before turning his attention back to the
mangrove trees he and other world leaders were planting.
His aides described Trump as a vulnerable and defeated figure who
motivates Democratic voters to go to the polls and reminds centrists of
the chaos and turmoil that surrounded his presidency. They also
portrayed Trump as a threat to U.S. democracy through his continued
false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen from him through
widespread voting fraud - a claim that motivated the Jan. 6, 2021,
attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
"Trump is definitely the most vulnerable of the candidates but he does
come with a cost the White House is keenly aware of," said a top
Democrat who works with the White House on political issues, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
It is important not to underestimate Trump nor his influence on
Republican leaders, another Biden adviser said, noting that Trump has
been written off many times in the past by pundits only to re-emerge
stronger.
Biden, who already is the oldest U.S. president and turns 80 on Sunday,
has not formally announced whether he will seek re-election. Trump is
76. Most Americans would like 75 as the cutoff age for running for
president, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.
Senior Biden aides including Anita Dunn have started sketching out
staffing and organizational plans for Biden's expected re-election
campaign, according to a person briefed on the plans. The expectation is
the campaign would be staffed and ready for an early 2023 announcement
from Biden and fully functional by the spring, that person said.
'VERY FORTUNATE'
Biden in March was asked by reporters gathered in Brussels for an
emergency meeting on Ukraine whether he would like to run again against
Trump. Biden responded, "In the next election, I'd be very fortunate if
I had that same man running against me."
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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the
media after an alleged Russian missile blast in Poland, in Bali,
Indonesia, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Biden defeated Trump by more than 7 million in the nationwide
popular vote tally and by a margin of 306 to 232 in the
state-by-state Electoral College that determines the outcome of
presidential elections.
Trump made his announcement a week after U.S. congressional
elections in which his party under-performed expectations. Several
Trump-backed candidates lost midterm House and Senate races and
those who echoed his false claims about the 2020 election were
defeated in key contests.
Republicans are still pointing fingers over who was to blame for the
party's lackluster performance, with some blaming the Trump
influence. But the businessman-turned-politician remains the top
choice of Republican voters for the 2024 race in opinion polls.
Trump's team appears hopeful about the opportunity of a rematch with
Biden.
"We are pretty giddy about Biden running," a Trump adviser told
Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Biden has said he will finalize a decision on whether to run after
holiday consultations at the end of the year. During a news
conference after the midterms, Biden suggested there would be little
change from the themes that animated his 2020 campaign: restoring
the soul of the country by purging Trump-like rhetoric, building the
economy from the middle out and bottom up, and uniting the country.
A few hours before Trump's announcement, the White House launched a
new webpage highlighting the Biden administration's achievements
from creating manufacturing jobs and lowering drug prices for
seniors to gun reform.
Whether Trump is able to secure his party's 2024 nomination depends
upon a number of factors including who are his opponents - Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis is considered a major potential rival - and
whether party leaders, donors and influencers decide to stay by his
side.
Fifty-six percent of voters in the midterms had an unfavorable view
of Biden and 41% viewed him favorably, according to an exit poll
conducted by Edison Research, while 58% had an unfavorable view of
Trump and 39% viewed him favorably. In addition, more than
two-thirds described U.S. democracy as "threatened" rather than
"secure." A third held the view that Biden was not elected
legitimately.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Will
Dunham and Heather Timmons)
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