Joe Biden launches presidential bid warning ‘core values’ at stake
● Former vice president would be the oldest ever in White House
Former Vice President Joe Bid en formally joined the crowded Democratic pr esid en ti al contest yesterday, declaring the soul of the nation at stake if President Donald Trump wins re-election.
In a video posted on Twitter, Bid en focused on the 2017 deadly clash between white supremacists and counter protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. Bid en noted Trump’s comments that there were some“very finepeople” on both sides of the vio - lent encounter, which left one woman dead.
“With those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it,” Biden said.
“And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had seen in my lifetime.”
He continued :“We are in the battle for the soul of this nation. If we give Don - ald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation - who we are. And I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”
The 76- year-old Bid en becomes an instant front-runner alongside Vermont S en. Bernie Sanders, who is leading many polls and has proved to be a successful fundraiser.
Among Democrats, Bid en has unmatched international and legislative experience, and he is among the bestknown faces in US politics.
Bi denis betting that his working-class appeal and ties to Barack Obama’s presidency will help him overcome questions about his place in today’ sincreasingly liberal Democratic Party. Obama did not endorse Biden on Thursday but did take the unusual step of weighing in on the race. An Obama spokeswoman said selecting Biden as his running mate in 2008 was “one of the best decisions he ever made.”
Bid en’ s announcement marks the unofficial end of the chaotic early phase of the 2020 presidential season. The field now features at least 20 Democrats jockeying for the chance to take on Trump next year. Several lesser-known candidates may still join the race.
But the anti- establishment wave that swept Trump into office has not been kind to either party’ s states men. Biden’s team worries about his fundraising ability and his tendency to commit gaffes. His centrist approach in a party moving left on major policy debates raises questions about his appeal.
Four years Trump’ ss enior, Biden would be the oldest person ever elected president should he win. Yet his allies believe the skeptics will ultimately warm to his strong connections to the Oba ma years.
Bid en has said he would campaign as an“Oba maBiden Democrat,” who is as pragmatic as he is progressive. He’s aiming to beacon du it between working-class white voters and the younger, more diverse voters who backed Obama in historic numbers.
Just minutes after the announcement, the GOP lashed out against Bid en’ s record in the Obama administration, a line of attack in sharp contrast with recent criticism against other 2020 Democrats that has largely focused on them being too liberal, or even socialists.
“Biden’s fingerprints are all over foreign policy blunders and the weak est economic recovery since World War II,” Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said. “We don’t need eight more years of Biden. Just ask President Oba ma, who isn’t even endorsing his righthand man.”
Privately, Trump allies have warned that Biden might be the biggest re-election threat given the former vice president’s potential appeal among the white working class in the Midwest, the region that gave Trump a path to the pre sidency. Biden is paying special attention to Pennsylvania, a state that swung to Trump in 2016.