Geoff: Welcome to the newshour.
President Joe Biden formally
announced today that he is
running for a second term.
That message came in a
three-minute video that
contrasts his agenda on issues
like reproductive rights and the
economy with his potential
Republican opponents.
Amna: The video comes four years
to the day from when he
announced his 2020 presidential
run.
In today's announcement,
president Biden echoed familiar
themes from that campaign.
He said the country is still in
a battle for the soul of the
nation and that democracy is at
stake in 2024.
Pres. Biden: Freedom.
Personal freedom is fundamental
to who we are as Americans.
There is nothing more important.
Nothing more sacred.
That's been the work of my first
term, two -- to fight for our
democracy.
But you know around the country,
Maga extremists are lining up to
take those bedrock freedoms.
Cutting social security that
you have paid for your entire
life while cutting taxes for the
very wealthy.
Dictating what health care
decisions women can make,
banning books.
Amna: At 80-years-old, he is
already the oldest president in
history and enters the race
underwater with many voters.
Our pbs newshour NPR marist poll
out today shows his approval
rating at 41%, with 50%
disapproval.
To dive into what comes next for
the president and his campaign,
or white house correspondent
Laura barron-lopez joins us from
the white house.
Good to see you.
President Biden, is fair to say,
has a record to run on from the
early years of his presidency.
The message today was focused on
what is at stake, not what he
has done so far.
Is that going to be a core
campaign message moving forward?
Laura: Campaign messages going
to be two-pronged.
The sources close to the white
house say they wanted this
announcement video to be
forward-looking, to be
presenting a choice rather than
a referendum on the president.
And a key element of this we
know is about the threats to
democracy.
In 2020 when Biden launched his
campaign, he used images from
the neo-nazi March in
charlottesville, Virginia.
This time around, using imagery
from the January 6 insurrection.
And arguing that rather than
moving more toward the center,
Republicans, along with leading
candidate former president
Donald Trump, are moving more
toward extremes, particularly on
lgbtq, transgender issues, on
abortion, on guns.
But also on embracing political
violence.
That does not mean the president
is not going to run on his
record.
The people I talked to today
said he is very much going to be
talking about the big
infrastructure law, prescription
drug reform, as well as climate
change.
Amna: As you know, there has
been speculation about when he
would announce.
He is officially in the race.
What can we expect in the way of
a campaign schedule?
Where will he be holding events
and when?
Laura: In the short-term, not
much is going to change.
The president will be going out
across the country in his
presidential capacity, likely --
like we saw today when he spoke
to the building trades unions in
Washington, D.C.
Pres. Biden: Our economic plan
is working.
We have to finish the job and
there is more to do.
And you are leading the way,
shovels in the ground, cranes in
the air, factories opening all
those jobs being created.
Folks, we have created more than
12 million new jobs, more jobs
in two years than any president
created in a four year term
because of you.
Laura: You heard there that the
president was making the
economic case for his
reelection.
In addition to that, we are not
going to be seeing much other
than stops like that in his
presidential capacity, as well
as fundraising events.
The big campaign events, the big
campaign rallies, he and vice
president Kamala Harris will not
be holding until 2024.
Amna: You mentioned vice
president Harris.
She was featured prominently in
that announcement video.
What do we know about the role
she will be playing in that
campaign?
Laura: She is going to be
featured very prominently,
particularly on the issue of
abortion rights.
We have seen Harris has taken a
leading role here for the white
house on abortion rights, as
well as gun safety.
And those are two big issues
that the campaign really
believes are going to be key for
voters.
That is an important voting
block for the president.
I've talked to a number of
Democrats, including posters,
who say without young voters
turning out in the same numbers
as 2020, president Biden can't
win reelection.
Amna: That is our white house
correspondent Lorber on Lopez,
reporting for us -- Laura
barron-lopez, reporting for us
tonight.
Thank you.
Laura: Thank you.
Geoff: For more on Biden's
reelection effort, we're joined
by two democratic party
strategists.
Jim Messina, who ran Barack
Obama's winning reelection
campaign in 2012 and is the CEO
of the Messina group.
And Celinda lake, the president
of lake research partners and a
pollster who worked with Joe
Biden's campaign in 2020.
It is great to have the both of
you with us.
President Biden's announcement
video suggests he will run less
on his record in office, and
more against what he perceives
as Republican mag extremism.
Is that enough to counter voters
concerns about his age?
There is this NBC news poll that
asks the question, should Joe
Biden run for office?
70% of all the respondents said
no.
That number among Democrats
stands at 51%.
Celinda: Let me say first of
all, I think that is the most
foolish polling question out
there.
A lot of people that say no want
to protect him from what they
think is a hard road ahead.
If age is the worst thing they
have to say about Joe Biden,
against Donald Trump who is
basically the same age, we are
in great shape.
I think what he did in the video
today is layout a very powerful
contrast.
It was very related to his thing
about soul of the nation.
The idea that the Maga
Republicans are taking away our
freedoms is a very powerful
contrast.
I think in the campaign, every
day he runs on his record as
president, but in the campaign,
setting up this contrast, as Joe
Biden himself says, making a
referendum, talking about the
alternative, let's not talk
about the almighty, is a very
report and goal.
That is how we won in 2022.
Geoff: What about that?
President Biden defined much of
his campaign in 2020, and the
lead up to this reelection bid,
he defined it by who he is not,
Donald Trump.
Is that sufficient when you are
asking voters for a second term
in office?
Jim: To win, most important
thing is you have a contrast.
You can't run someone against no
one.
Celinda has him right, don't
compare him to the almighty.
Democrats to pretend we will
have another Barack Obama walk
out of the woodwork.
Joe Biden will be our nominee,
he should be our nominee, he has
been a successful president, and
we have to stay focused on
Donald Trump.
It looks like the Republicans
will be crazy enough to nominate
Donald Trump.
That is the piece of it.
We need a clear contrast.
To your question, the second
piece, is we have to have a
forward-looking message about
the future.
That is why I agree with
Celinda.
I love the video today.
We talked about freedom, words
that the Republicans have had to
have as their own, and Joe Biden
is on the offense on things like
freedom, on women's rights, on
other things that put
Republicans squarely on the
defense and to set us up for the
contrast we have to have.
Amna: Can I ask you more broadly
about the democratic party, and
what this is now?
We have to remember in 2020,
then candidate Biden sold
himself as a bridge to the next
generation of leadership.
You know there are a lot of
other senior Democrats out there
who have presidential
aspirations.
What does this say about the
bench?
Does this say the party does not
believe anyone else could win in
20 24?
Celinda: I think there are a lot
of people who could win in 2024.
But we have a good president who
beat Donald Trump.
And he is a bridge president,
but why would he jump off the
bridge in the
middle-of-the-road?
?
He is going to finish the job.
Then we will have a ton of great
Democrats and we have them
already in the cabinet,
governorships, in the vice
presidential office.
We have a very strong bench.
Amna: Jim, following up on that
with you, I want to get your
take.
I wonder if you think this
undercuts those other
up-and-coming leaders, the bench
in waiting, as it were.
There is a battle for the soul
of the nation, as they say.
Any extremism expert says this
is not a battle won in the next
5, 10, 15 years.
Does this say there is no other
DEM to lead?
Jim: No, it says Democrats want
to win.
With the section of 1988, in the
last 40 years, when a president
has not run for reelection for
whatever reason, the other party
has won.
Democrats look at this and say,
Joe Biden has beaten Donald
Trump of fort, he can be 10
again.
Let's keep on keeping on and
let's develop that bench.
The cabinet is a great place to
be on the bench.
No one is going to go anywhere.
In four years, everyone and
their dog can run.
Celinda and I can run and we
will have added.
Right now, the party will be
unified behind Joe Biden.
Geoff: I want to draw on your
experience working on the Obama
reelection effort.
There are Biden advisors who say
this effort for president Biden
will mirror what Barack Obama
did in 2020 -- in 2012.
There may not be any rallies
until the new year, at least not
until Republicans have settled
on a presumptive nominee, in the
white house intends to use
official events to get out the
president's message.
How can president Biden best
leverage the office of the
presidency in the bully -- and
the bully pulpit?
Jim: I doing what he is doing.
Doing his day job every day.
I think the white house has been
really smart, they are on a 31
city tour right now going to all
of these places, talking about
the things Joe Biden has done to
build manufacturing, to catch up
to China on the silicon issues.
That is what he should do.
He should do his day job.
Let the Republicans have their
crazy primary.
And next year, go straight at
it.
Right now, just be the president
of the United States and thales
-- and stay laser focused on
your job.
Geoff: Why do you think
president Biden is most
vulnerable?
Celinda: I think on the economy.
I think the direction of the
economy is the single thing we
should focus on.
That is like the economic
tourism is great and that is why
he will be working on the
economy every day.
He has been a record great
president.
It is not good enough.
It is not good enough --
everybody has the freedom to
thrive in their families as well
as make their own personal
decisions.
Amna: Lots more to talk about.
Come back soon.
We will talk soon.
.
That is Celinda lake and Jim
Messina, CEO of the missing a
♪♪