US President Joe Biden has made it clear that part of his motivation to run for a second term next year is to prevent the return of Donald Trump. “We cannot let him win,” Mr Biden said during a recent appearance, addressing reporters.
In response, Mr Trump did not rule out abusing power if he returns to the White House and also commented on Mr Biden’s age, suggesting that he may be too old for such a political rematch. Neither candidate is yet the official nominee of their respective party.
Mr Trump, who is the runaway front-runner in the Republican race despite facing four criminal cases, is not shying away from making his intentions known. Meanwhile, Mr Biden, as the incumbent president, is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Current opinion polls indicate a hypothetically tight race between the two as the 2024 White House campaign heats up. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running. But we cannot let him win,” Mr Biden said at a campaign fundraising event near Boston.
This marks the first time Joe Biden has explicitly stated that his aspirations for a second term are squarely focused on opposing Mr Trump’s comeback bid.
Mr Trump, on the other hand, made an appearance at a televised Fox News town hall in Iowa, where he did not shy away from addressing allegations of abusing power. When asked about it, he replied, “Except for day one, I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Despite Mr Trump’s confidence, his rival’s mental and physical state were also brought into question. He mentioned not believing that Mr Biden would “make it physically” through the grueling campaign ahead and suggested his mental state may be “possibly equally as bad or even worse” than his physical state.
As the US election landscape intensifies, with the fourth Republican presidential debate scheduled to be held in Alabama, the race between Biden and Trump continues to draw significant attention and scrutiny.