US PRESIDENT JOE Biden could announce his long-expected bid for a second term as early as next week, US media reports have said.

According to reports in outlets including The Washington Post and CNN, citing unnamed sources, Biden is set to launch his re-election campaign with a video release.

The Post reported that this could be on Tuesday, the anniversary of the day in 2019 when Biden joined the race to take on then incumbent Donald Trump in 2020. However, the report underlined that the plans were not finalised and could be postponed.

Already the oldest US president in history at 80, Biden would be 86 by the time he completed a second term. The current frontrunner for the Republicans is Trump, raising the growing possibility of a rematch of one of the most divisive elections in US history.

In 2019, Biden opened his bid with a video address. Although many initially saw him as a has-been, out of politics since finishing his term as vice president under Barack Obama, he went on to win the Democratic nomination, then defeat Trump in a tempestuous contest that the Republican attempted to overturn.

Biden has dropped repeated hints that he will run, including last week during his trip to Ireland.

As he was about to board Air Force One, after giving his public address in Ballina, he was asked about the 2024 election by reporters.

“I’ve already made that calculus. We’ll announce it relatively soon. But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done.”

“I told you my plan is to run again.”

However, Biden backers have pointed out that he is not necessarily in a hurry.

Republicans

Republicans are lurching toward a likely ugly nomination battle, while Biden has the advantages of having no serious challenger in his party.

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, who failed in a bid to replace the California governor, last night announced on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show on Fox News he is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Elder, 70, made the announcement on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show on Fox News.

After the announcement, the 70-year-old tweeted: “America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can bring us there. That’s why I’m running for President.”

The long-shot candidate joins a Republican field that includes former president Donald Trump, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, ex-Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Elder made his first bid for public office in 2021, when he received the most votes out of 46 people who were hoping to replace California Governor Gavin Newsom in a recall effort. A majority of voters ended up voting against removing Newsom, making the vote count in the replacement contest irrelevant.

Newsom attacked his rival for his support of Trump and his conservative positions, such as opposing abortion rights and restrictions imposed to slow the spread of Covid-19, such as mask mandates.

But Elder said the experience of running for office showed he had a message that resonated with voters.

A lawyer who grew up in Los Angeles’ rough South Central neighbourhood and attended an Ivy League college and law school, he has a following among conservatives through his radio programs and has been a frequent guest on Fox News and other right-wing media.

Elder has criticised Democrats’ “woke” agenda, Black Lives Matter and the notion of systemic racism, positions that have put him at odds with many other black people.

Includes reporting by Press Association and  – © AFP 2023