Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/Atilgan Ozdil Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) speaks during a rally in front of Trump International Hotel in New York City on March 24.

NEW YORK ― Addressing hundreds of supporters in the shadow of the Trump International Hotel in midtown Manhattan, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) formally announced her campaign for president of the United States.

In Gillibrand’s speech, which elaborated on themes she introduced in a two-minute video advertisement earlier this month, she argued that she possesses the “bravery” needed to defeat President Donald Trump and overcome his divisive legacy.

Drawing on the “Star-Spangled Banner” line, “in the land of the free and the home of the brave,” the speech and video that preceded it framed Gillibrand’s career and candidacy as an extension of intergenerational struggles for racial, gender and economic equality that have succeeded thanks to individual acts of courage.

Gillibrand cited her work in Congress fighting sexual assault in the military, advocating an end to the exclusion of openly gay Americans in the military, and winning health care benefits for the 9/11 first responders as evidence that she has the backbone ― or “bravery” ― needed to reunite the country behind a vision of inclusivity and greater economic opportunity.

“I will go toe-to-toe with anyone to do the right thing. Whether it’s powerful institutions, the president, or even my own party,” Gillibrand declared.

“I’m fighting for an America where power truly belongs in the hands of the people ― where our leaders care about everyone in this country, and lead not from weakness of ego, but from strength of character; where compassion and integrity define our government, not self-interest and corruption; where we just don’t care about the profits we make today, but the future we’re leaving to our grandchildren,” she added.

Gillibrand’s formal announcement was an attempt at something of a reboot more than two months after she rolled out an “exploratory committee” for her White House run.

After eliciting some positive attention for her mid-January announcement and subsequent Iowa campaign swing, Gillibrand has struggled to break through in the press and the polls.

The junior senator from New York lacks the name recognition of colleagues like Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.); the devoted ideological base of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); or even the youthful novelty of South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D).

In a Des Moines Register poll of over 400 Iowa Democrats conducted earlier this month, not a single respondent listed Gillibrand as their first choice. (Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to announce his plans to run, led in the poll, followed by Sanders.)

Gillibrand’s televised town hall on MSNBC last Monday evening provided another demonstration of the challenges she has faced in carving a niche for herself in the crowded Democratic presidential field. It was a relatively rare moment of unfiltered national television exposure for Gillibrand, and she used it to unveil a new proposal to provide free college for Americans who volunteer for some form of national service.

But Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who held a live CNN town hall the same night, dominated the news cycle with her call to abolish the Electoral College.

And unlike Sanders, Warren, Harris and neighboring Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), it took Gillibrand two months to pick up an endorsement from a prominent elected official in her home state. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) announced last Sunday that she was backing Gillibrand’s presidential bid. However, neither Maloney nor any other elected officials spoke at Gillibrand’s Manhattan rally.