He was leading the polls as the Democrat of choice. Pundits on both sides of the aisle were already discussing his storied past and the hurdles he would face. President Trump has been looking forward to it. The Democratic Party’s base knew all along. Yes, Joe Biden has finally figured out what everyone else already knew: He’s running for president in 2020:
The core values of this nation… our standing in the world… our very democracy…everything that has made America — America –is at stake. That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States. #Joe2020 https://t.co/jzaQbyTEz3
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2019
Old Joe the Last to Know?
The former vice president and senator finally has his hat in the ring, but he certainly took his time in getting here. A handful of the current contenders seemed certain to run even before the 2018 midterms, and, of course, Biden was among them. But in waiting until late April to announce, Uncle Joe has already missed out on some serious fundraising opportunities.
Joe Biden
Former Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) and Andrew Yang, the founder of Venture for America, both filed to run for president back in 2017. Since January, 17 other Democrats – and the technically Independent Bernie Sanders – have announced their runs. Biden’s announcement makes him potential Democrat number 21.
Uncertain and Shaky Ground
Joe Biden was expected to officially announce his candidacy one day earlier, on Wednesday, April 24, and had allegedly planned to follow up his video announcement with events in Charlottesville, VA, Pittsburg, and Philadelphia. However, news broke Tuesday that Biden seemed to have postponed the announcement, giving the impression that the campaign’s plans were far from certain. For a very brief time, it was unsure if he would even announce at all.
Did Biden delay his announcement by a day and change his plans because of discord or disorganization in his team, as some have speculated? Perhaps. Whatever the reason, though, such uncertainty does not bode well for a candidacy.
There’s also some question as to whether Biden can live up to the expectations and launch a successful campaign. And that’s not just skepticism from those who oppose him; Biden himself has, according to Time, expressed his own concerns – especially regarding fundraising – to friends. But perhaps the greatest hurdle will be his long and storied past – including an unfortunate amount of inappropriate touching, which he has already tried to address. As Mr. Biden well knows, now that he is officially an opponent, his fellow Democratic Party contenders will dig through that past in an attempt to tear him apart. And they have a lot of material handy for just that use.
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