Kirsten Gillibrand officially announces White House run

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Sunday officially announced she is running for president in 2020. 

The Democratic senator, who announced an exploratory committee for a potential run in January, takes aim at President Trump and highlights a number of progressive causes in a launch video that asks “Will brave win?”

I’m running for president. Let’s prove that brave wins. Join me: https://t.co/I1vp93LBUR pic.twitter.com/Giu4u4KEZQ

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) March 17, 2019

{mosads}”Brave doesn’t spread hate, cloud truth, build a wall,” Gillibrand says in the video. “That’s what fear does.”

Gillibrand also calls for universal health care, paid family leave, ending gun violence, a Green New Deal and getting money out of politics and points to activists such as striking public school teachers and Women’s March participants.

Gillibrand, 52, joins a crowded and historically diverse pool of Democratic candidates vying to take on Trump in 2020. She is one of six women who have announced runs so far.

The senator also announced a campaign kickoff rally in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York next week.

“We’re bringing the fight to Trump’s doorstep,” the event’s page reads. 

Gillibrand, who was first appointed to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate in 2009, has enjoyed national attention in recent years, largely because of her activism in the #MeToo movement. She has long been an advocate for victims of sexual assault and harassment in the military, in the workplace and on Capitol Hill. 

Gillibrand faced some criticism from other Democrats when she became the first Democratic senator to call for the resignation of then-Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) over allegations of sexual misconduct. Her office also came under scrutiny this month because of a report that a former female staffer resigned over the alleged mishandling of her sexual harassment complaint. 

This report was updated at 7:42 a.m.