Article Summary –
President Biden’s re-election campaign strategy was to make Donald Trump so unappealing that voters, even those uneasy with Biden, would vote for him. However, after a poor debate performance and increasing calls from House Democrats for him to leave the race, Biden is facing significant challenges. Biden’s top aides believed a one-on-one debate with Trump would help lift sagging poll numbers, but this strategy appears to have backfired and redirected attention onto Biden’s fitness for office.
Biden’s Re-election Hurdles: Proving Fitness for Office and Highlighting Trump’s Threats
President Biden’s re-election strategy aimed to paint rival Donald Trump as dire enough to drive uneasy voters to his side. However, Biden’s political spiral, accentuated by an underwhelming debate performance, has raised questions about his ability to hold office. Increasing calls from House Democrats suggest that he should withdraw from the race.
To shift voter focus back onto the potential harm of a second Trump term, Biden must first extract himself from his current predicament and convince voters, especially Democrats, of his capability to perform presidential duties. As Representative Eric Swalwell puts it, “The focus has to shift back to Trump and what rights we lose if he’s president.”
The Biden campaign initially concentrated on Trump, highlighted through Biden’s commencement of the year with a fiery speech against Trump’s attempt to subvert the previous election. Biden and his team believed that an early debate would reframe the race and improve Biden’s dipping poll numbers. Yet, this strategy did not materialize as expected.
David Axelrod, a longtime skeptic of Biden’s viability to run a presidential campaign at his age, commented, “It is going to be very difficult now for the Biden campaign to put the focus on him.” This sentiment is echoed in Democratic circles: Biden needs to make this election about Trump, as he did in 2020, when his winning alliance extended from progressive Democrats to moderate Republicans.
Four years later, polls indicate that 74% of voters believe Biden is too old for a second term. John R. Kasich, the former Ohio governor, suggests that people are ready to move on from this narrative and focus on the campaign against Trump.
While Democrats grapple with questions about Biden’s fitness for office, there is evidence that Biden still holds the support of the Black voters who were instrumental in his 2020 victory. However, Biden must still assure voters of his fitness for the presidency. To win, Democrats must avoid making the election a referendum on Biden’s ability to serve, says Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
Amid questions about Biden’s acuity and calls for his resignation, Biden’s campaign underscores Trump’s comments about “Black jobs” and the Supreme Court’s decision granting Trump immunity from prosecution for his actions leading up to the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
The Biden campaign argues that Trump’s administration poses a significant threat to the country, outlining Trump’s potential actions, including banning abortions, ruling autocratically, deporting Latinos, and punishing his adversaries.
However, to turn voter attention to the potential dangers of a Trump victory, Biden and his team must first demonstrate his basic physical fitness for office. This election must be a choice, stated Matt Bennett, co-founder of the Democratic think tank Third Way, indicating the need to redirect attention to “Trump’s criminality, chaos, and cruelty.”
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