Joe Biden appears to file to run for second term as US president
A form filed with the Federal Election Commission by Joe Biden's campaign committee has left people wondering if the president is running for a second term.
The form, filed today (30 August) with the FEC, showed an updated 'Statement of Organization' for Biden's 2020 committee - 'Biden for President' - with other candidates listed on the filing including Vice President Kamala Harris.
However, despite instant speculation on social media that Biden had 'officially filed for re-election', a Democratic National Committee official said the form is not a sign an announcement of a re-election bid is imminent, telling The Independent that the filing was routine.
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The unnamed official said: “This is not a re-election filing. This is just updating the form to change the treasurer name because the former treasurer is taking a government job."
Earlier this year, a poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College Research Institute found that a majority of Democrats wanted someone other than Biden to run for presidency in the 2024 election campaign.
In total, 64 percent of Democrats polled said they were after a new leader - a figure that rose to a whopping 94 percent among those aged 30 years old or below.
A more recent poll from USA Today and Ipsos also found that half (56 percent) of Democratic voters believed Biden should not run for a second term, despite approving of his experience, policy knowledge and drive towards unifying the country.
However, 60 percent said they thought Biden can win if he does run in 2024.
By contrast, 82 percent of Republican voters thought former president Trump could win the 2024 election, while 59 percent felt the former leader 'deserves reelection' and should be the Republican nominee.
This week, Biden will make three key appearances in political battleground state Pennsylvania, including a major prime-time speech on Thursday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing yesterday: "The president is going to talk about how he brought the Democrats and Republicans together earlier this month to pass the most significant safety law in 30 years. He’ll talk about how we have built on that momentum and how we must act on banning assault weapons
"A majority of Americans support… banning assault weapons; the National Rifle Association opposes it. We are going to hear from the president about the importance of making sure that we protect our communities.
"[He] has been really clear that congressional Republicans, that extreme MAGA [Make America Great Again] agenda that you heard him talk about last week is a threat to the rule of law."
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Jess Hardiman