国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Bidens 2020 U.S. presidential bid draws mixed reactions_时事

国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Bidens 2020 U.S. presidential bid draws mixed reactions

However, Biden said he told Obama not to endorse him in the race, though many Democrats saw him as a trustee of Obama's legacy.

"I asked President Obama not to endorse," Biden said on Thursday. "Whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits."

"If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation - who we are - and I cannot stand by and watch that happen," Biden said in his announcement video.

While seen by many Republicans as Trump's strongest challenger in a possible general election matchup, the former vice president faces criticism from the left side of his party for his centralist leadership.

Following his announcement, Justice Democrats, one of top progressive groups, urged Democrats to choose "new leadership with a bold vision" favored by the party's progressive base, calling Biden a relic of the Democratic Party's "old guard" who failed to stop Trump.

"We don't need someone who voted for the Iraq War, for mass incarceration, and for the Bankruptcy Reform Act while voting against gay marriage, reproductive rights, and school desegregation," said the group in a statement, advocating "progressive populist policies like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, free college, rejecting corporate money, and ending mass incarceration and deportation."

Biden also faced criticism recently from women who alleged his tendency to touch people made them uncomfortable. In response, he promised to be "more mindful and respectful of people's personal space" but didn't apologize.