10JOE EMBRACES CANDIDACY
Former Veep Biden officially enters race, and blasts Trump
Former Vice President Joe Biden stopped stalling and finally announced early Thursday that he’s running for the White House in 2020, becoming the most high-profile Democrat to enter an already overcrowded primary field.
The long-awaited announcement from the ex-right-hand man to President Barack Obama comes amid accusations that he’s been too handsy with several women, making them uncomfortable with non-sexual touching.
But Biden didn’t mention those claims in a more than three-minute long announcement video. Instead, he took sharp aim at President Trump and slammed his infamous response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
“That’s when we heard the words of the president of the United States that stunned the world and shocked the conscience of this nation. He said, ‘There were some very fine people on both sides,’” Biden, wearing a button-down shirt with no tie, said, looking directly into the camera.
He continued, “If we give Donald 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.”
Some strategists have questioned whether Biden, 76, is the right candidate to challenge Trump, considering his age and misconduct accusations from at least eight women.
The accusers say Biden touched them, at times, sniffing their hair and squeezing their shoulders from behind, although none have accused him of more serious misconduct.
The Democratic party, which is younger and more diverse than ever, has taken a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment in the #MeToo era, and Biden’s reentry into the political arena may rub some voters the wrong way.
But Biden, who apologized to his accusers in a video last month acknowledging that “social norms have begun to change,” argued his nearly five decades of political experience puts him in a prime spot to beat Trump.
“There’s nothing you can’t achieve if you work at it. That’s what we believe,” he said in the announcement video. “And above all else, that’s what’s at stake in this election. We have to remember who we are. This is America.”
Trump predictably responded to Biden’s announcement with a scornful tweet.
“Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe,” Trump tweeted. “I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty — you will be dealing with people who truly have some very sick & demented ideas. But if you make it, I will see you at the Starting Gate!”
Making his first campaign stop at a pizza parlor in Wilmington, Del., later in the day, Biden brushed off questions about Trump’s slight, telling reporters “everybody knows” he was going to respond that way.
Biden is the second oldest Democratic 2020 hopeful, behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who’s 77.
The former veep is the 20th contender to enter the race and stands out as a clear front-runner, according early polling.
The field features several other prominent White House wannabes, including Sanders, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Biden, the most schooled centrist to join the contest, teased his bid for weeks, telling friends and political allies to gear up for his campaign while quietly hiring staff in key primary states like New Hampshire and South Carolina.
He has been a major political player for decades, representing Delaware in the Senate between 1973 and 2009 and
serving as VP for both of Obama’s terms.
Additionally, this is Biden’s third run for president. He also unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 2008.
Obama heaped praised on his former VP following his announcement, but stopped short of outright endorsing him.
“President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made,” Katie Hill, a spokeswoman for Obama, said in a statement. “The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today.”
Biden later explained that he had privately asked Obama not to endorse him, telling reporters he wants the primaries to be about “merits” not personal connections.
Beyond misconduct claims, Biden is expected to face pushback from the arty’s increasingly influential rogressive wing over aspects of is political record. Left-leaning lawmakers have eedled his previous tough-onrime stance, including his controersial endorsement as senator of egislation that disproportionately unished African-Americans by reating crack cocaine more arshly than powder cocaine. But Biden’s across-the-aisle aproach could be an appeal to many oters, according to political anaysts. “This election is not just about Donald Trump. It’s about the votrs we lost in the last election,” eteran Democratic strategist Jenifer Holdsworth told the Daily News. “Joe Biden is relatable, and I hink he can talk to a broad segment of the electorate across the ountry.” Early surveys also indicate Biden as a real shot at reclaiming the White House. A Monmouth University poll onducted between April 11-15 put iden in the lead among all other nnounced candidates, with 27% of urveyed Democrats and Demoratic-leaning independents saying they would back his candidacy. Sanders landed in second place in that survey, with 20%. Plus, Biden has not minced words about the common enemy of the dueling Democratic factions. “If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him,” Biden said of Trump at an event in Florida last year, blasting the president as a misogynist. Trump has ushed back with imilar ferocity, lamming Biden as “weak,” “low I.Q. ndividual” taken off the trash heap” y Obama. However, some f Trump’s own onfidants say Bidn is actually the ast Democrat that Trump wants to un against in 020. “I think he’d like o steer clear of Joe iden,” ex-Trump campaign communications adviser Michael Caputo told The News. “[Biden] has a long record of public service and can be quite effective in small-town America, picking off voters vital to the president’s coalition.”