It鈥檚 been Washington鈥檚 worst kept secret for months, but finally, Joe Biden has formally entered the race to become the next U.S. president.
The former vice-president made the announcement in a early Thursday, joining an already swollen pool of 19 Democratic Party candidates.
In the video message, Biden says Americans are 鈥渋n the battle for the soul of this nation鈥� and that the country鈥檚 core values are in danger.
Democratic strategist Christy Setzer says the message was spot on.
鈥淚t basically says to America: 鈥榬emember what were all about here.鈥� He鈥檚 somebody who, again, having been the vice-president for eight years, having somebody who has a ton of gravitas on the national and international stage, can deliver that message, especially in stark contrast to Donald Trump,鈥� she said Thursday, appearing on CTV News Channel.
Trump wasted no time commenting on Biden鈥檚 announcement. In a tweet, Trump said, 鈥淲elcome to the race Sleepy Joe. I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 2020 re-election team has said that there are a few Democratic candidates they鈥檙e concerned about running against, with Biden being at the top of that list. Setzer says it鈥檚 probably because Biden and Trump go for the same core voters: white working-class men.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an appeal that Biden has, we believe, with that set of voters that has just not been true of other Democrats that are in the race, or of that many Democrats in the race,鈥� she says.
Other high-profile names in the running include Bernie Sanders, Beto O鈥橰ourke, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Pete Buttigieg.
