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“Look,I’m very young,energetic,and handsome – what the hell am I doing this for?” he quips.
Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller immediately hit out at the ad,saying it was “remarkable to see Biden kick off his first ad of the general election drawing even more attention to voter concerns he’s too weak to lead”.
“Here’s the problem:there’s nothing Biden can do to ‘improve’ here. He won’t be any sharper in another 8 months.”
Democratic strategists,however,hope the pivot will appeal to young voters,and give Biden the chance to sell his achievements,which includecancelling student debt for millions of Americans,seeking to protect abortion rights,record investments in climate change initiatives and a significant bipartisan infrastructure law.
Young people,however,have told this masthead how they were frustrated by the political landscape in America and lacked enthusiasm for another contest between 77-year-old Trump and the man who beat him in 2020.
At the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill,gun violence survivor Alexander Denza said this election was “one that students are least excited for,even though it’s so necessary for our future”.
About 30 kilometres away in Durham,21-year-old Annaleise Linkenhoker said she wanted to see how the candidates addressed issues she cared about,such as housing affordability and cost-of-living pressures.
And in South Carolina,31-year-old Chris Salley explained how he quit the Democratic Party in October due to concerns over Biden’s age and the war in Gaza. He plans to vote for progressive third-party candidate Cornel West.
While third-party candidates like West and Robert F Kennedy jnr don’t have much chance of winning,they can bleed votes from the main parties and make a difference in an extremely tight race.
“I’m like so many other Americans who believed that Biden was the guy at one time to get the job done,” said Salley. “But moving forward,it is definitely time for a new generation of leaders.”
The latest Harvard Public Opinion Project found that fewer people aged 18 to 29 intended to vote this year,than did at the same point during the 2020 election cycle.
A “Students for Biden-Harris” initiative launched on Monday seeks to tackle this by organising,registering,and engaging students to re-elect Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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The 2024 election campaign is now in full swing,given Trump and Biden no longer have any genuine challengers. Former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haleydropped out of the race last week after Trump dominated the Super Tuesday election contest. Haley’s exit was followed by Congressman Dean Phillips,Biden’s longshot rival for the Democratic nomination,who folded his campaign.
The youth program will include recruitment drives and targeted outreach to campuses in battleground states such as Michigan,where high numbers of “uncommitted” voters – particularly around university precincts – held a protest vote over Biden’s support for Israel.
Biden-Harris 2024 youth engagement director Eve Levenson said the initiative would be “critical to winning this November.”
“Young voters have so much at stake in this election:their economic futures,the ability to make their own healthcare decisions,to love who they love,and to live free from the threat of gun violence,” she said.
“This campaign knows the importance of empowering young Americans with the tools and resources they need to talk to their friends about the stakes.”
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