Former Vice President Joe Biden has officially announced that he is joining the race in a bid to replace President Donald Trump in 2020.
In a big early move, Biden brought on 2016 press secretary for the Bernie Sanders campaign Symone Sanders as a senior campaign adviser, according to The Associated Press. In a tweet, Sanders said she doesn't feel the former vice president is perfect but believes he will "get it right."
.@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right. PS – all stock photos aren’t created equal ????. https://t.co/JXvgEGHaRI
— Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) April 25, 2019
In his announcement video, Biden directly attacked Trump on his response to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, after a woman was killed when an individual drove his car into a crowd of protesters.
"He said there were quote some very fine people on both sides," Biden said in his video. "With those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it. And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime."
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
The current president even commented on Biden, who has shown up as an early leader in polls of the race despite not being officially entered, with a tweet and a new nickname for him.
"Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe," Trump tweeted. "I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign."
Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe. I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty – you will be dealing with people who truly have some very sick & demented ideas. But if you make it, I will see you at the Starting Gate!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2019
Despite holding an early lead, the former vice president will have to answer questions about previous actions that have come back to haunt him. Recently multiple women came forward and shared stories of physical contact with Biden that made them uncomfortable as well as his role in the Anita Hill hearings.
Biden joins what is now the largest field of presidential candidates in history, growing the number to 20. And according to CNN, Biden will soon attend fundraisers in Pennsylvania now that he has officially launched his campaign and needs to collect funds after his competitors were able to get a head start.
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