Voters brace for Biden-Trump redux

The Big Story 

President Biden launched his reelection bid on Tuesday as voters brace for what could be a rematch between him and former President Trump, the clear frontrunner in polls for the 2024 GOP primary. 

© AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Biden rolled out his campaign launch amid wide speculation that he would be gearing up for a second bid. He reaffirmed in interviews as recent as this month that he would be running, and the launch puts any doubts of whether the president would do so to rest.

The campaign launch comes amid signs that Trump is solidifying his hold on the GOP. Florida House Republicans have steadily offered their endorsements to Trump – a major blow to presumptive White House contender and chief Trump rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who only racked up a few endorsements from the state’s delegation.

Trump received another key endorsement this week from Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), the chair of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm – a notable endorsement given that many of Trump’s Senate contenders in battleground races lost last cycle.

Polling, too, has suggested that the former president holds a commanding lead over other announced and potential rivals, including DeSantis, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.  

And while Biden has several primary challengers — progressive Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and prominent anti-vaccine activist — they’re considered longshot bids. As The Hill’s Hanna Trudo and Amie Parnes note, Biden has largely avoided what could have become an ugly presidential primary battle.

“We ‘settled’ on him because he’s done a ton of shit that is popular with every part of the Democratic Party and independents, and he is going to beat Trump again,” Democratic strategist Eddie Vale told Hanna and Amie.

“No one ran against him because they know it’s all just general Democratic complaining and no [actual] Democratic voters are going to vote for someone else in a primary,” he added.

While Democrats are eager to see Trump as the GOP nominee heading into 2024,  as our Brett Samuels writes, that doesn’t mean voters are eager to see a 2020 campaign redux between Trump and Biden.

“There aren’t going to be that many people excited about a rematch because there aren’t that many people who want both of these people running for president,”David Hopkins, an author and political science professor at Boston College, told Brett.  

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, we’re Caroline Vakil and Julia Manchester. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington.   

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Essential Reads 

Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:

Trump questions why he should participate in GOP primary debates

Trump reacts to Biden’s 2024 launch: ‘Single worst president in American history’

Biden bashes GOP to union workers for first speech since announcing 2024 bid

The Countdown 

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

• 172 days until Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary

• 196 days until Kentucky’s and Mississippi’s gubernatorial generals

• 560 days until the 2024 general election

2024 Top Issues 

© Greg Nash

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley delivered remarks on abortion from the headquarters of the influential anti-abortion organization Susan B. Anthony List in Arlington on Tuesday.

Haley worked to strike a unifying tone during the speech while also touting her anti-abortion beliefs. Haley notably said that the bans on the procedure passed in various red states would not hold up at the federal level.

“We have to face this reality,” Haley told reporters. “The pro-life laws that have passed in strongly Republican states will not be approved at the federal level. That’s just a fact notwithstanding what the Democrat fearmongers say.”

Haley appeared to echo the calls of some in Republican leadership, including Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, for their candidates to go on the offensive on the issue.

“Pro-life political leaders and candidates should not put up with being demonized. We should call out the extremism on the left,” Haley said.

Haley’s remarks come as Republicans grapple with how to message on the issue as Democrats seek to take an offensive approach. The Hill’s Caroline Vakil reports that Republicans are running into a “political buzzsaw” on the topic as the party’s announced and potential presidential candidates face pressure to call for restrictive policies.

Haley’s comments to SBA Pro-Life America come after the group hit former President Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP primary, last week following his remarks that the issue of abortion access should be left up to the states, not the federal government. The group called Trump’s stance “morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate.”

Other announced and potential candidates have spoken about stances on abortion. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R) said earlier this month that he would “literally sign the most conservative, pro-life legislation that they can get through Congress.” Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a six-week abortion ban into law, banning most abortions in the state. 

In Other News 

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Who is Biden’s new campaign manager, Julie Chávez Rodríguez?

President Biden on Tuesday morning tapped senior adviser Julie Chávez Rodríguez to head his reelection campaign, turning to an Obama-Biden administration veteran and granddaughter of Latino labor leader Cesar Chávez to lead the charge to 2024. Biden made the announcement when he officially launched his campaign Tuesday, the four year anniversary of when he declared his 2020 bid for the presidency in 2019. Chávez Rodríguez has …

Full Story

Around the Nation 

Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:

• EXCLUSIVE: DA says indictment announcement coming this summer in Trump probe (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• Ron Johnson on abortion, climate change and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Here are key takeaways from an hour long Q&A (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

What We’re Reading 

Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

• Republicans think Biden is an ‘easy target’ to unite their party (Politico)

• Fighter or optimist? Iowa Republicans eye Trump alternatives (The Associated Press)

Elsewhere Today 

Key stories on The Hill right now:

DeSantis vs. Disney feud divides GOP over attacks on ‘woke’ companies

Republican attacks on “woke” American corporations are exposing deep divides within the GOP, with some Republicans worried the party is straying from its roots by going after the internal politics of big businesses. The Republican at the center of the fight is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has tested the limits of the … Read more

Don Lemon’s CNN co-anchors address his firing

Don Lemon’s former CNN co-anchors early Tuesday addressed his sudden firing from the network one day earlier, sharing news of his departure with the outlet’s audience and praising his nearly 20-year career at the cable news giant. “We begin with some news about this show,” anchor Poppy Harlow said as “CNN This Morning,” opened. “As you … Read more

What People Think 

Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:

• Has the media’s ‘big purge’ begun?

• RFK Jr.’s longshot presidential bid may still give Biden a headache

• Feehery: Are Both Biden and Trump Paper Tigers?

You’re all caught up. See you next time!