Biden rallies Democrats around accomplishments and against ‘extreme’ GOP ahead of possible 2024 bid

By Arlette Saenz and Sam Fossum, CNN

President Joe Biden rallied Democrats ahead of a possible reelection bid Friday evening, leaning into the accomplishments of his first two years in office and revving up his attacks on “extreme MAGA Republicans.”

“We have more to do,” Biden said at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “We’re just getting started.”

Biden was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris — a rare joint appearance on the road and in a critical battleground — as the two move closer to launching another run for the White House. The remarks at a downtown Philadelphia hotel had the hallmarks of a campaign event — a “DNC Biden Harris” banner served as the president’s backdrop, attendees held signs that read “Joe,” “Go Joe,” and “Kamala,” and chants in the room calledfor a second term.

“Let me ask you a simple question: Are you with me?” Biden asked the crowd, which responded with cheers of “four more years.”

The president’s team is still awaiting a final green-light for a 2024 run but has worked behind the scenes for some time to lay the groundwork for a possible campaign.

The Philadelphia speech came four days ahead of the president’s State of the Union address where he’s set to lay out his vision for the next year. Biden heads into that event buoyed by higher than expected job growth last month, prompting him to declare at the White House on Friday that “the state of the union and the state of our economy is strong.”

In the lead-up to next week’s speech on Capitol Hill, the White House has made a concerted effort to tout the president’s wins with a special emphasis on the bipartisan ones. That effort was on display this week as the president traveled to Baltimore, New York City and Philadelphia to highlight how the communities will benefit from the bipartisan infrastructure law he signed in 2021.

At the DNC event, the president and vice president also put the spotlight on Democrats’ better-than-expected performance in the midterms and efforts to lower health care costs, historic investments towards climate change, and progress on gun safety legislation while still noting more work needs to be done.

“Democrats we are delivering. Actually we are delivering big time,” Harris said. “When we lead, we build a future in which every American cannot only survive but can thrive.”

But Biden also used the speech before party faithful to take aim at “extreme MAGA Republicans,” previewing possible lines of attack he could use against GOP rivals heading into 2024.

“These aren’t conservatives. These are disruptive people,” Biden said. “They intend to destroy the progress we made.”

The president has shown an eagerness in recent weeks to draw contrasts with Republicans on issues like the economy, Social Security and Medicare. Ahead of an anticipated showdown with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over raising the debt limit, the president has insisted he won’t negotiate on that issue.

“I’m ready. I’m ready,” Biden said, continuing: “I’m not going to let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip.”

The president’s remarks as the DNC winter meeting comes as the committee is set to shakeup its early nominating calendar on Saturday. The plans would remove Iowa from the opening spot and replace it with South Carolina, a diverse state that proved pivotal to the president’s nomination in 2020.

The-CNN-Wire
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