President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he will seek a second White House term in 2024, a decision that will test whether Americans are ready to give the 80-year-old Democrat, already the oldest U.S. president ever, another four years in office.

Biden made his announcement in a slickly produced video released by his new campaign team, in which he declares it is his job to defend American democracy. It tries to invoke fear by opening the video with ominous music alongside imagery from the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we’re in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said. “This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election.”

“Let’s finish this job. I know we can,” he said.

Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms. I believe this is ours.

That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job. https://t.co/V9Mzpw8Sqy pic.twitter.com/Y4NXR6B8ly

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2023

While calling for unity among Americans, Biden slammed what he called MAGA extremists for fighting efforts to protect life in the womb, banning books in schools that promote pornography, and upholding the biblical definition of marriage.

Biden’s age makes his re-election bid a historic and risky gamble for the Democratic Party, which faces a tough election map to hold the Senate in 2024 and is the minority in the House of Representatives now. Fifty-nine percent of Democrats polled by Reuters/Ipsos in February said the phrase “Joe Biden is too old to work in government” describes the president.

Biden’s approval ratings were stuck at just 39% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on April 19 and there are steep concerns about his age among some Americans; he would be 86 by the end of a prospective second term, almost a decade higher than the average U.S. male’s life expectancy.

Doctors declared Biden  “fit for duty” after an examination in February, but multiple instances in which Biden has appeared lost on stage and made incoherent flubs during speeches have made many question if the president has the mental acumen needed to fulfill another four years.

Biden will be joined in his 2024 quest by his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

TRUMP MATCHUP AGAIN?

The campaign video tries to subtly attack former Republican President Donald Trump without using his name, setting the stage for a potential rematch of the 2020 election.

Biden’s entry into the race follows Trump’s announcement in November that he would seek a second term after losing to Biden in his 2020 election bid.

Biden, running as an incumbent, is unlikely to face much competition from inside his party. No senior Democrats have shown signs of challenging him and he has compiled a board of rising-star Democrats to advise his campaign, including governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. So far, only Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a bid for the Democratic nomination apart from Biden.

Potential and declared Republican presidential candidates have begun framing the 2024 election around cutting back government spending amidst record-level inflation, protecting life in the womb, giving parents a voice in education, tackling crime in Democratic-run cities, and curbing historic illegal immigration.

The two leading Republican contenders, Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have also vowed to protect women’s sports by limiting the access of trans-identifying individuals to sports teams that don’t align with their biological sex. Another topic that will sure to be a primary focus of both parties’ campaigns is the difference in ideologies over promoting irreversible medical treatments and surgeries to minors.

NOT A 2020 RECAP

Biden ran a mostly virtual campaign to defeat Trump in the 2020 election as COVID raged, saying he sought to unify the country, rebuild the economy, and better control the virus.

With pandemic restrictions mostly over in the United States, the 2024 race is likely to be a much different, more physical affair.

Biden’s campaign video suggests he plans to laud his handling of the economic recovery from the pandemic slump as part of his campaign focuses, despite the fact that the U.S. still appears to be in a recession.

Other Biden themes may include strong U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and what the White House claims are Republican plans to unravel federal healthcare and programs popular with older voters.

A recent NBC poll showed that the majority of voters don’t want either Trump or Biden to be president in 2024. With 70% saying Biden shouldn’t run again and 60% saying the same of Trump.

The same poll suggested that Biden would lose to a generic Republican nominee by a 6-point margin. Of those surveyed, only 22% of independent voters say they would vote for Biden in 2024.

Copyright 2023 Thomson/Reuters. Additions and edits for FISM News by Michael Cardinal.