President Joe Biden officially launched his candidacy on Tuesday for the 2024 US presidential election.
The announcement comes exactly four years since he announced his 2020 presidential campaign. But unlike the gruelling primary season he faced last time, Mr Biden is all but certain to lead the Democratic ticket in 2024.
“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we were in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” Mr Biden said in his announcement video.
“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer.”
The incumbent has spent much of this year highlighting his administration's accomplishments, while contrasting Republican policies as extreme and out of synch with US voters' wishes.
He again went after Republicans in his campaign video, saying they have a poor track record on providing healthcare coverage and social security, and promoting women's rights.
“Around the country, Maga [Make America Great Again] extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away,” Mr Biden said.
But to be re-elected, he will have to convince a wary and weary electorate.
Mr Biden's polling remains at a dismal 42.5 per cent, FiveThirtyEight's aggregate shows. And voters are unsure if they want to re-elect someone who would be 82 on election day next year.
Seventy per cent of Americans do not believe Mr Biden should run for office, an NBC News poll on Sunday showed, with 48 per cent of respondents saying his age was a major factor.
An AP-NORC poll released last week showed similar feelings towards the Democratic President, with 73 per cent not wanting him to run again.
'Finish the job'
Mr Biden's 2024 campaign will be presented as a case to voters that he must build on the accomplishments he made throughout his first term.
He aimed to do just that at a speaking engagement in Washington, his first since announcing his candidacy. Addressing a crowd of building trade union members, Mr Biden celebrated the number of construction jobs created since he took office.
"Our economic plan is working. We now have to finish the job," he said.
That refrain is the same line Mr Biden used during this year's State of the Union address, using the prime-time engagement as a chance to make a direct pitch to US voters.
The Democrat touted his administration's accomplishments on education, healthcare access, gun control and more. Mr Biden said “Let's finish the job” or delivered variations of the line 12 times after listing each achievement.
Mr Biden will have the opportunity to continue that messaging as he governs as president. He has continued to call for gun-control reform, though that seems unrealistic with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
He will also probably celebrate continued job growth in the US, though high prices remain on consumers' minds.
A 2020 rematch?
The 2024 US presidential election could serve as a rematch of 2020 if former president Donald Trump secures the Republican nomination.
But voters do not appear to have an appetite for another Trump-Biden contest. Sixty per cent of NBC polling respondents and 70 per cent of those polled AP-NORC do not believe Mr Trump should run again — or want him to.
Pre-empting Mr Biden's announcement, Mr Trump on Monday night posted a statement on Truth Social condemning his successor.
“You could take the five worst presidents in American history, and put them together, and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our Nation in just a few short years. Not even close,” Mr Trump wrote.
The White House has been careful not to discuss the Republican front-runner by name, arguing that doing so would be in breach of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from engaging in partisan political activities.
Mr Trump has spent much of his 2024 campaign railing against numerous investigations into his business dealings, involvement in the January 6 insurrection and alleged hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Investigations into Mr Trump seem to have little effect on what voters think of him. Sixty-eight per cent of those who responded to the NBC News poll believe the investigations surrounding the former president are politically motivated to prevent him from running again.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
