Stage set for Biden-Trump Round 2 as both clinch their party’s presidential nominations

HOUSTON, US (AA) – US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are headed for a rematch after both clinched their respective party’s nominations on Tuesday.

Both candidates were projected to win their primaries in the states of Georgia, Mississippi and Washington, giving them the magic numbers they needed to clinch, according to multiple media outlets.

Biden secured the 1,968 delegates needed for the Democratic nomination and sent a clear message that he is ready for Round 2 versus Trump.

“My lifetime has taught me to embrace the future of freedom and democracy,” the president said at a rally in Atlanta. “But we all know Donald Trump sees a different America, an American story of resentment, revenge and retribution. That’s not me, that’s not you.”

Trump garnered the 1,215 delegates necessary for the Republican nomination and posted a video on social media saying there was no time to celebrate and that the focus was to beat Biden.

“We’re going to drill, baby, drill. We’re going to close our borders. We’re going to do things like nobody has ever seen before. And we’re going to make our nation’s economy be the best ever in the world,” said the former president.

This time around, Biden is facing pressure for his handling of international affairs, including the Israeli war on Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war. The president is also under scrutiny for domestic issues including the economy and his handling of mass illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border.

Trump, on the other hand, is running for the White House with 91 felony charges looming over his campaign. He faces 47 state charges including trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and allegedly falsifying business records in the state of New York. He also faces 44 federal charges including his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and illegally taking classified documents from the White House.

Trump will officially be nominated at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which takes place July 15-18.

Biden will receive his party’s official nomination at the Democratic National Convention, which will be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois.

Trump versus Biden is the first US presidential rematch in nearly 70 years. The last time that happened was in 1956, when Republican President Dwight Eisenhower defeated former Democratic Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson for the second time.