PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden has not announced a 2024 bid for the presidency, but his message to party loyalists on Friday evening was unmistakable.
“We’re just getting started,” Biden said at a Democratic National Committee meeting. “We’ve got a lot more to do.”
Biden is expected to launch another White House bid in the coming months. His appearance before party leaders at a DNC function in Pennsylvania laid a foundation for reelection that the president is expected to build on next week in his State of the Union address.
“Let me ask you a simple question: are you with me?” Biden asked early in his Friday speech.
The crowd of organizers and activists responded in unison: “Four more years.”
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Biden’s message to party leaders
The president emphasized his record to Democratic loyalists and hinted at his future plans:
- The economy: Biden referenced Friday’s stronger than anticipated jobs report and the 3.4 percent unemployment rate — an almost 54-year low.
- Middle class: Biden said he’s working to make inroads with working class Americans who felt unseen and forgotten.
- Judicial nominees: The president touted his appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. She is the first Black woman to sit on the high court.
- Gun reforms: Biden said that he’d like to see Congress pass an assault weapons ban and limit the number bullets that can be in magazines.
- Biden’s agenda: He also said he wants to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month, adopt paid family and medical leave, make childcare more affordable, enshrine abortion rights and pass voting and policing reform bills.
‘We are delivering’
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking before Biden, told party leaders and local Democrats, “We are delivering big time.”
Taking a swipe at Republicans, who she did not name, Harris said, “There are those who want to stand in the way of our momentum.”
She said “extremist, so-called leaders” are banning books, rejecting the history of America and making it harder for Americans to vote.
“But we know what to do,” Harris said. “We vote. And right now, this January of 2023, we build on our momentum.”
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