Ell defeat j 2024. We are on the roads over concerns over bidens age and record. Get me out of bed because it is not working. We take it all to cochair senator chris coons. Rick cline breaks down the republican field and we cover all the fallout. Debt ceiling deadlock. Republicans cast a bill to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending as democrats dig in. They produced a ransom note. Thats not responsible. Can congress find Common Ground and avoid economic catastrophe . Our exclusives with House Majority leader, Steve Scalise. And what more do you want to see . I want to see usda get the farmers the relief. After congress promised of aid for farmers. Why so many are waiting for relief in the series through the cracks. Announcer from abc news, it is this week, here is raddatz. Good morning. Here is this week, joe biden is seeking for a second term. As the oldest president in history whether he can serve a full eight years. On tuesday, he puts any doubts of his intentions to rest, kicking off his campaign in a threeminute video asking voters for him to finish the job and warning american democracy is still at iinocal point of a tax from the republicans bying for r the gop nomination despite the fact that their front runner is just four years younger. Well cover the story from every angle along with the battle on capitol hill of the nations borrowing limit. We begin at the white house with our correspondent, mary bruce. Good morning. President biden made it official asking americans to give him another four years in setting up a potential rematch with donald trump. This is not a time to be complacent. Thats why i am running for reelection. Reporter exactly four years after launching his run for the white house, the president kicked off his reelection bid. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as americans. There is nothing more important. Nothing morcrs arguing we are in a battle for the soul of the nation against what he calls maga republicans. Courage,pounity, democracy, freedom, theyre under attack by an extreme movement that seeks to overturn elections, ban booked and eliminate womens rights to choose. Reporter there is no road trip and major speech. The president is launching his bid for reelection. The democratic primary will look very different. Biden is not expected to face a major opponent for the nomination. Hes facing some major challenges, according to polls, 70 of americans including a majority of democrats say he should not run again. A major concern of his age. Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term. His response has been to just watch h what do you say those americans who are watching and who are not convinced. I respect them to take a hard look and i took a hard look before i decided to run. I feel good. Reporter his bare bone operations is staffing up slowly starting with campaign manager, rodriguez, the top latina aid at the white house, granddaughter of caesar chavez. Bidens team thinks their strongest argument is show him doing the job. To show him being president. There is no question that with all of these concerns of his age, the spotlight is going to be shining brightly on Vice President kamala harris. We are seeing her taking on prominent roles, boosting her popularity. We can expect her to be front and center on major issues, martha. Thank you, mary. Bidens Campaign National cochair, chris coons is joining us now. Great to see you. Great to be with you, martha. I know it is a big week. You are facing some difficult poll numbers that nbcs poll references 51 of democrats dont think joe biden should run again. Well, martha, the numbers we are going to be talking about were the 12 million jobs created in the first two years that biden had been president. The lowest unemployment and i will remind you, our president often says dont compare me to the all mighty, compare me to the alternatives. When folks get polled on a head to head if donald trump should be the republican nominee again, he wins and he wins decisively. President biden is stronger and the former president is weaker. Hes been indicted. I look at what we have gotten done with President Biden at the white house on infrastructure, manufacturing and it is a great record to run on. Hes been talking about that record since he became president. He talked about it again and again and there were some things he didnt get passed, assault weapons banned. I want to get back to the polls. In the same poll, 48 of those poll said they didnt want him to run again. No elephant in the room here because of age. Yes, and you were with me at the white house Correspondents Dinner last night. There were thousands of folks in the room. He was fast on his feet. He was agile and had great delivery. The union address, nearly an hour and a half, he was faster on his feet than most members in congress. Hes capable and record of leadership at home and abroad makes him imminently qualified and we should be focusing on the wisdom and experience he brings to the job in addition to the accomplishments he had these first years. I know you cited at the state of the union, he had good comedic timing and a lot of that is on telepromter and people have seen him stumbled. The president says watch me and some of those people have watched him and still have doubts. What would you say to them about those stumbles and about rambling sometimes. Martha, compare him to the alternatives and recognize the value of experience and seasoning, recognize that his values align better with where we want america to go and in my meetings and conversations with him and public and private, i am more often the person that goes um you know, the new senator from missouri than he does. Hes fit and capable to another term. What was this Campaign Like . The last one during covid and he didnt have to go out a lot. How will he handle this in a general Election Debate . Joe biden loves campaigning and he loves going to a coffee shop or a union hall or a fire station. I have seen no one in politics in my time whos more energized by connecting with voters than joe biden. His campaigns are not generated rallies with playing with his name behind him. He frankly complained in 2020 that he didnt like being disconnected from folks on the day of his inauguration. The fact that nobody there because of the pandemic made him feel like i want to get out to connect. Hes been doing that as president and will be doing that as our canned nate. One of the things, the spotlight being on kamala harris. She will be front and center on major issues. What took so long . Well, the Vice President like many Vice President has struggled to get positive press coverage and get the credits she deserves for the hard work shes been doing. I had a great opportunity with her recent trip to ghana and how engaged she was and the significant meetings with national leaders. I saw this week as we did a Campaign Kickoff campaign. The Vice President is ready to run and ready to be president if that should ever happen. I know our president has great confidence in her and so do i. I want to turn to the debt ceiling. 1. 5 trillion, of course, a key part of President Bidens agenda. What should the senate be doing now . He says he wants a clean debt bill. Martha, you know what the consequences would be to you and your viewers if we were to default. The republicans are demanding hostage negotiations will theyll crash the full face and credit the united states. Thatll raise the rates viewers are paying on credit cards and Student Loans and mortgages. It will hurt us globally. President biden will meet with Speaker Mccarthy of the things we should be discussing. The annual spending and appropriations. He wants no spending cuts. He reduced the deficits by 1. 7 trillion. His predecessor ballooned the deficit with record lets go forward, what do you want to do then . Look at what just passed in the house . We passed landmark legislation to fund the healthcare for burn pit victims. They cut that. If you apply the cuts across program they are talking about. 30,000 states and local Law Enforcement officers would be laid off. You would let us default our debt. No. Before any spending cuts sns no, i would be happy to negotiate, whats the mix of revenue increases and spending cuts that made sense going forward. Look at President Bidens record, we have reduced the deficit. Thanks very much for joining us senator coons. We appreciate it very much. Lets turn back to those polls for a minute. Those poll numbers represent people and while Democratic Leaders are rallying behind the president , there is a definite trend. We went to pennsylvania to find out what voters in the state that helps deliver biden the presidency think about him now. Reporter from harrisburg to philadelphia and the suburbs, democrats are divided on whether or not President Biden should be running again. You voted for biden. I did. Reporter he announced this week, what was your reaction . Regrets and disappointment, frustration. Reporter while it is very early in the race that disappointment and frustration was expressed again and again by young voters we talked to. I think i would go for biden but i would prefer a fresher candidate. Reporter he announced this week, were you excited by that. No, i am interested in progressive candidate. Reporter the 21yearold could not point me to anything that would make her want to vote for baden biden again what do you like about joe biden . Um that hes not trump. [laughter] reporter the hesitation for many is exactly what the polls say. Age. I would say hes way too old and unfit to be ent. S al ohe ideao old. We want to see new ideas as a young generation. Reporter dont tell that to 32yearold Pennsylvania State representative, malcolm. We have seen the type of leader who not only deserves four more years but the American People, we need him to finish the job. Reporter hes working to down play voters fears of the president s age and rally them around his candidacy. I think the next year and a half of this campaign, i think our job as democrats is to really push back against narrative that there are too equally competent and accomplished executives in terms of the former president and the current president. Reporter at the senior center, bidens age is an asset and not a liability. Do you talk about politics here . We talk everything here. Reporter what do you talk about when you are talking about politics . Medicare and medicaid and social security. We are talking about living arrangements. Reporter when you think about your lives and all those issues, whos your candidate . Well, that to me is a nobrainer. That would be biden. Reporter the Biden Campaign seems to be more on solid ground with older voters we spoke to. A group that helps bidens victory in 2020. Do you worry about his age . No. Not at all. As long as hes getting the job done and doing what hes supposed to do in the right state of mind. Thats what should be required. Reporter it is not just the age gap biden needs to worry about, it is the geography. It was not the cities that powered bidens to victory in 2020. It was the suburbs that really made the difference. So, we went to North Hampton county in the lee high valley, a bell weather county voted for obama twice then flipped to trump in 2016 before going blue with biden in 2020. Propelled by voters like steve davis who were not motivated by party, instead inspired or uninspired by candidates. When you look at biden you voted for r him in 2020. What gives you pause if you are having some sort of pause . Obviously, his age, and also getting the Party Together to accomplish something. Reporter comparisons is what biden is banking on. Voters will dislike the alternatives enough to go out and vote for him. Reporter whats the single reason you would vote for biden . Because i am not going to vote for trump. It is that easy. Reporter there is also an enthusiasm gap, commitment that gets people to the polls and thats clearly something biden will have to work on. I feel so uninspired and disconnected from the work hes been advancing that it is not something i am excited about. Reporter so, in the end if donald trump is the nominee and joe biden is the nominee, you would stay home . Probably. Get me out of bed, joe biden, frankly, it is not working. 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With flonase, allergies dont have to be scary spraying flonase daily gives you longlasting, nondrowsy relief. psst psst flonase. All good. The choice of this election is now between strength and weakness between success or failure or safety or anarchy or peace or conflict and prosperity and catastrophe. With your vote on november 5th, 2024, we are going to crush joe biden. Well beat him at the ballot box and well settle our unfished business. Former President Trump there after President Biden officially launched his reelection bid. Hes vying for a rematch but other republican candidates are hoping to take him on instead. Rick cline is back with the break down. We are not sure how big of a field we are looking at . The first debate is in august. We dont know how many candidates will be on stage. Former President Trump said he may not attend at all. We only see a small handful of republicans getting into this race. Nikki haley and asa hutchinson. I am told to expect some presit trump mike pence sometimes in june. Senator tim scott may be earlier. Well see some movement inrema when does ron desantis gets in and if he gets in. He spent the last week traveling abroad going to japan and the u. K. And israel. He now comes back to florida for the final week of his legislative session. We are told here at abc news to expect the president ial Explorer Committee sometimes next week. It is a rough few weeks for desantis it looks for trump for all his legal woes is as strong as ever. I want to hone in on the last three months of fox news polling on the president ial primary. Donald trump only gaining strengths since february. Now, the choice of a clear majority of republican primary voters. Resantis, dro t a cple s been losin tt voter share, the only candidate who seems to be gaining ground is donald trump. The other candidates stuck in the mid or low single digits. Despite that fact, it is ron desantis whos taking the brunt and the harshest attack in the republican primary field as it is emerging. Disney which is abcs Parent Company sued ron desantis. This lawsuit describes a targeted campaign of retaliation. The other candidates have been pouncing on that to portray him as antibusiness. Nikki haley suggesting disney should move some of their operations to south carolina. We are seeing President Biden facing his biggest government challenge since the gop passing that debt ceiling increase that includes big budget cuts that the president says it is going to be non starters. How do you see this fight shaping up . Martha, the president has to be really careful as this plays out in public. This is the last couple of months of the president s Approval Rating on the economy polling. You can see those numbers are just stuck in the mid30s. So, all the mixed Economic News we have had as of late and a potential show down that could make things worse. If this becomes a more serious economic slow down or a blame game or finger pointing over whos to blame, you know President Biden is not starting in a strong position. Thank you, thank you very much, rick. Lets take all of that to House Majority leader of Steve Scalise from louisiana. Good morning, congressman. You heard what rick was reporting and the bill republicans passed on the debt ceiling and you heard what senator coons had to say, he compared it to hostage negotiation. Whats your reaction . Well, martha, good morning, good to be with you. Most americans recognized that as we are addressing the debt limit, we have to address the problem that got us here. President biden maxed out americas credit card by spending trillions of dollars over the last tw