UNITED STATES: Joe Biden launches 2020 presidential bid

Former US Vice-President Joe Biden has declared a presidential bid, putting an end to months of speculation. In a video announcement, Mr Biden said the “core values of the nation… our very democracy, everything that has made America America, is at stake”. The 76-year-old enters a crowded race for the 2020 Democratic nomination. He is […]

Former US Vice-President Joe Biden has declared a presidential bid, putting an end to months of speculation.

In a video announcement, Mr Biden said the “core values of the nation… our very democracy, everything that has made America America, is at stake”.

The 76-year-old enters a crowded race for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

He is up against 19 other hopefuls, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Bernie Sanders.

Mr Biden recalled President Donald Trump’s much-criticised remark that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the deadly Charlottesville white nationalist riots of 2017.

“With those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it,” Mr Biden said.