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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s instructions to his campaign were very simple: Don’t talk about Donald Trump’s four criminal cases, people familiar with his campaign strategy said.
The president’s advisers and allies say Trump is in enough trouble without Biden being willing to intervene in his opponent’s legal matters for political gain.
“Every day he [Trump] A person close to the Biden campaign spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the campaign’s position.
But with Trump’s first criminal trial set to begin as early as April, and other cases pending, Biden has focused on his opponent’s plight without delving into specific cases. I’m looking for a way to apply it. He instead focuses on the underlying actions that led to some of the criminal charges Trump faces, without mentioning judges, prosecutors, courts or potential penalties.
Mr. Trump’s status as the defendant and the alleged Republican nominee poses an obvious dilemma for Mr. Biden. The campaign is built for his one purpose: victory, and the proven method for winning is to expand the enemy’s vulnerability. If the verdict in the Manhattan “hush money” case goes against Trump this spring, he could enter his campaign stronghold as a convicted felon, but this is the first time in American politics. This is an unprecedented vulnerability. (Trump has maintained his innocence in this case, as he has in other criminal cases.)
Biden isn’t necessarily helping his cause by saying nothing. At every turn, President Trump tells voters that he is the target of unfair prosecution aimed at sinking his candidacy. He continues to name Biden and Democrats as puppets behind the accusations.
Independent voters are important voters in elections. A recent Politico Magazine/Ipsos poll found that a slim majority of independents believe Trump is guilty of all four criminal charges he faces. If President Trump’s accusations of election interference go unanswered, it is possible that he could move forward by convincing some voters that the charges are without merit.
Therefore, a strict stance of silence may not work for Mr. Biden.
Rather than tackling the issue head-on, Mr. Biden is urging voters to consider why Mr. Trump is facing such legal jeopardy. Biden’s first campaign speech of 2024 shows the message he is trying to convey and the balance he is trying to strike. He made no mention of the charges against Trump. But his explanation of Trump’s actions echoes the language of the indictment that special counsel Jack Smith filed against Trump last August on charges of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. There is.
Like Smith, Biden told the audience that Trump spread a “lie” that he won the election he lost. As per the indictment, Biden explained how President Trump’s attempts to overturn the results through recounts, audits and legal challenges failed. The indictment holds Trump responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, but Biden also blamed Trump for summoning his supporters to Washington on the same day. denounced.
Biden continues this line of attack. He repeatedly referenced the January 6 riot during his State of the Union address on March 7, claiming that President Trump was “trying to bury the truth” about the riot.
Speaking at a campaign event in Dallas this week, Mr. Biden again referred to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in language similar to the charges against Mr. Smith.
“Trump ended his presidency by sending a mob into the Capitol,” Biden said. Mr. Smith’s indictment says Mr. Trump and his co-conspirators “led” his supporters to the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Mr. Biden’s victory.
At the same time, Biden is freely and brashly filing civil lawsuits that strike at the heart of Trump’s identity as a wealthy and successful businessman. President Trump has been unable to secure bail to cover a $464 million judgment against him and his co-defendants in a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Biden repeated the joke at a campaign reception in Houston on Thursday, drawing laughs from the audience. Biden said a man came to see him looking “defeated” and complained that he was “crushed with debt” and “completely devastated.”
“I had to say, ‘Sorry, Donald, I can’t help you,'” Biden quipped.
A civil lawsuit is a completely fair battle for the Biden campaign, said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), a Biden supporter.
Filed by state officials or individuals, “the civil lawsuit has nothing to do with what’s going on criminally,” the lawmaker said.
Opinions are divided even within the Democratic Party as to whether Mr. Biden should discuss Mr. Trump’s criminal case in the first place. In a normal election campaign, candidates usually try to exploit weaknesses exposed by their opponents. But if Mr. Biden, as head of the executive branch, fosters the impression that he is manipulating the Justice Department’s investigation into Mr. Trump, he risks a major backlash.
Mr. Swalwell said Mr. Biden “should not say anything that would make anyone think that he is hand in hand with an independent Justice Department.”
“There’s a saying in politics: ‘Don’t throw your life jacket at someone who’s drowning,'” said Jim Messina, who ran then-President Barack Obama’s successful 2012 re-election campaign. . “The Biden campaign and the White House don’t need to address this issue.”
Other Democrats take a different view. Democratic strategist Zach Petkanas said President Trump’s legal troubles reflect the turmoil he will bring to the White House if he wins in November, and that Biden should get straight to the point. said.
“Do we want a president who is federally indicted or do we want a president who is focused on reducing prescription drug costs for seniors?” Petkanas said. “That will be the choice, and no one, neither the camp nor its allies, should be afraid to speak out about it.”
No matter what Biden says about Trump, his team and outside allies are confident the trial will yield a useful split screen. While Trump sits in the dock in court, Biden plans to campaign in battleground states and remind voters of how hard he worked to cap insulin prices and lower unemployment, the president’s allies say. say:
“President Biden is going to be aggressive with events in all of the battleground states,” said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist. “Implicit in that contrast is a split screen between what President Biden is doing and President Donald Trump, who is trying to fight all these criminal cases.”
“That will go very well heading into the general election,” Cardona added.
Cable news networks are bound to provide full coverage of Trump’s trial, complicating Biden’s efforts to get his message across. This task may be made easier by the enormous financial advantage enjoyed by the Biden team.
Biden is opening dozens of new campaign offices and hiring hundreds of new staffers across battleground states, allowing him to reach more voters directly.
A Biden campaign official told NBC News that as Trump appears in more court appearances, the president’s campaign is planning to counter the campaign suspension by increasing its involvement in local reporting and social media. He said he was there.
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