Biden and Trump set to face-off in US election rematch after clinching party nominations
13 March 2024, 05:37 | Updated: 13 March 2024, 05:38
Joe Biden and former US president Donald Trump will face a rematch in the November election after both clinching nominations for their respective parties on Tuesday.
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Mr Trump surpassed the 1,215 delegate threshold needed to become the presumptive Republican nominee after winning in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington State on Tuesday.
Mr Biden won enough delegates to win the 2024 Democratic nomination after clinching the party's presidential primary in Georgia - pushing his total number of delegates beyond the 1,968 threshold for Democrats.
The victory simply confirmed what was already assumed - that Mr Biden would once again run for the White House.
They will both formally accept the nominations at their party’s national conventions in the summer - by which point Mr Trump could not only be a presidential candidate but also a convicted felon.
The result means a re-run of the 2020 election will go ahead this November - despite polls showing that few voters want to see a rematch.
It would be the first time two presidents have gone head-to-head since 1956.
The former US president has been indicted in four separate criminal investigations and his first trial, which centres on payments made to a porn actress, is set to begin on March 25 in New York city.
Mr Biden, like most incumbent presidents, did not face any serious Democratic challengers to his run for re-election at age 81.
He said he was “honoured” that voters had backed his re-election bid on Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of Mr Biden's victory, Mr Trump said: "I assume he's going to be the candidate.
"I'm his only opponent other than life, life itself."
Read More: Biden and Trump issue dire warnings about each other as rematch comes into view
It comes just days after Biden warned that "democracy is at risk" and said that the US was undergoing an "unprecedented moment" in its history, as he delivered his State of the Union address.
"Freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time" the US president told Congress on Thursday.
In a wide-ranging speech lasting roughly an hour, Mr Biden hit out at Mr Trump, criticising him for his foreign policy positions, his role in the January 6 Capitol attacks and the state of the country after Covid.
The State of the Union is an annual speech given by the president to Congress, in which they set out their agenda for the year.
