Minutes after confirming the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, President Biden and former President Donald Trump took aim at each other for a rematch in the 2024 general election.
“Donald Trump is waging a campaign of resentment, revenge, and retaliation that threatens the very idea of America,” Biden said in a statement, targeting his Republican challenger.
Trump then lashed out at his Democratic predecessor in the White House, calling Biden “the worst, most incompetent, corrupt and destructive president in American history” in a social media post.
A rematch in 2024 — which polls show most Americans are completely unenthusiastic about — is now underway.
Game On: Trump, Biden confirm 2024 major party presidential nominations
And the general election campaign began earlier than at any point in 20 years. John Kerry of Massachusetts secured the 2004 Democratic nomination in early March, running against Republican President George W. Bush.
The showdown between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump in November will be the first in a White House race since 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated former Democratic Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson in their second match. It will be a rematch.
Position on the 2024 presidential nomination race
President Trump is seeking to become the second president in history to serve two non-consecutive terms. That had not been achieved in more than 130 years, since Grover Cleveland, who won the White House in 1884 but lost reelection four years later, regained the presidency in 1892.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
With more than seven and a half months until Election Day on Nov. 5, most national polls and polls in five of the six battleground states, where Biden narrowly leads Trump, show Trump in the early lead. has an advantage. To win the White House in 2020.
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But Biden currently has the upper hand in fundraising, another important metric.
The rematch between Biden and Trump will focus on their styles and attitudes, as well as the economy, health care and rights, immigration, abortion, foreign policy, the war in Ukraine, and America’s future role overseas.
Biden, 81, who made history four years ago as America’s oldest president, continues to face questions about his mental and physical endurance even after last week’s energetic State of the Union address. will do.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris is standing on the left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is sitting on the right. (Shaun Hsu/Pool via AP) (Shaun Hsu/Pool via AP)
The president also needs to show he can energize key parts of the Democratic base: young voters, progressives, blacks and Latinos. Biden is also facing protests at the primary ballot box over his support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza, which has materialized as an “uncommitted” vote.
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The former president is also grappling with many issues.
Trump, who made history last year as the first president or former president to face criminal charges, is currently facing four major court cases, including federal lawsuits over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his handling of classified documents. and faces a total of 91 charges. There is also a $355 million civil fraud judgment that Trump is appealing. He will have to balance his court appearances with his campaign time.
Mr. Trump, 77, will also need to reach out to the large swath of Republican voters who backed Nikki Haley for the party’s nomination. The former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor was Trump’s last remaining rival until he ended his campaign for the White House last week. Haley’s endorsement spotlights Trump’s weakness with suburban and highly educated voters.
Further complicating matters, the presidential rematch between Biden and Trump is not a two-candidate campaign.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent Democratic candidate, is working to get his name on state ballots across the country. Mr. Kennedy is a longtime environmental activist, prominent vaccine skeptic and scion of the famous Kennedy political dynasty, with support in double digits in many general election polls.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein and progressive independent candidate Cornel West received single-digit vote percentages. And the centrist group No Labels is moving ahead with plans to sell “unified” presidential election tickets run by a third party.
Although third-party and independent candidates did not play a major role in the 2020 presidential election, they played a major role in the 2016 showdown between Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. And it may happen again in 2024.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
