United States president Joe Biden has announced he will seek a second term in the White House.
The announcement ends months of speculation and firing the starting gun on a 2024 re-election campaign that could result in a rematch of his 2020 clash with Donald Trump.
In a video posted on social media on Tuesday, the president said: “This not a time to be complacent; that is why I am running for re-election.”
Biden has long hinted that he would seek a second term, but the official launch of his campaign quells doubts that the 80-year-old president would run for re-election, and allows him to begin fundraising aggressively to support his campaign apparatus.
The Biden campaign began soliciting donations from grassroots supporters almost immediately on Tuesday morning, calling on voters to help him “finish the job” of his presidency.
The president is expected to convene a meeting of deep-pocketed donors in Washington later in the week.
Biden is set to address a conference of building trade unions later on Tuesday in Washington, while his vice-president, Kamala Harris, is expected to speak at Howard University with abortion rights activists.
