US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he may not be the only one who can beat Republican Donald Trump in 2024, but that he knows him well, touting his familiarity with the way the former president works a day after launching his re-election bid.
“I may not be the only one, but I know him well, and I know the danger he presents to our democracy and we’ve been down this road before,” Biden said after he was asked if he alone could beat Trump again.
Biden launched his 2024 campaign on Tuesday, potentially setting up a repeat of the 2020 race against Trump, who is currently the overwhelming frontrunner among Republicans.
Biden further clarified he would still be running for office in 2024 if Trump was not.
The president said there is more he needs to do to finish his job and position the United States so it is “economically and politically secure for a long time”.
“I think that we have to finish the job,” Biden said.
Trump is currently the overwhelming frontrunner for the Republican nomination, despite being the subject of multiple legal cases — the latest hearing this week was on a rape allegation in a New York court — and his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election.
When Biden challenged Trump in 2020, the Republican savaged him over his age, deriding him as “Sleepy Joe” and offering up crude insults about his mental state. The attack will certainly return, likely in new intensity, if Trump wins his party nomination.