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.”
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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.”
Biden’s message to party leaders
The president emphasized his record to Democratic loyalists and hinted at his future plans:
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- 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’
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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.
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“But we know what to do,” Harris said. “We vote. And right now, this January of 2023, we build on our momentum.”
