President Joe Biden has strongly signaled that his reelection strategy will focus on making the upcoming vote a referendum on Donald Trump. During a series of fundraisers in New York City, Biden labeled his predecessor, who is the likely rival in the upcoming election, as an “existential threat” that has a stranglehold on the Republican Party.
This marks a shift in Biden’s approach, emphasizing direct criticisms of Trump and providing a stark view of the stakes in the November contest.
Speaking to Democratic donors in New York, Biden asserted, “There is one existential threat, it’s Donald Trump,” emphasizing that the election is not about him but about Trump. Later in the day, he described Trump’s brand of politics as “dangerous” and stressed the need for someone to challenge him.
Donald Trump (Credits: Reuters)
While Biden has spent the past year promoting his own record, with limited improvement in approval ratings, he is now increasingly targeting Trump as a threat to democracy and personal freedoms.
This shift comes after congressional Republicans rejected a bipartisan immigration bill following Trump’s intervention, giving Biden an opening to portray the GOP’s loyalty to Trump as a danger to the nation.
Biden sharply criticized Republican lawmakers, accusing them of blindly adhering to the former president and choosing to weaponize issues rather than solve them.
He pointed to the collapse of a border deal as evidence of the GOP’s dysfunction and criticized Republicans for walking away from previously supported provisions due to threats from Trump.
The failed border vote is expected to become a political advantage for Biden, allowing him to discredit Trump on the campaign trail. Biden intends to highlight the state of the Republican Party, accusing them of lacking a backbone and emphasizing the high stakes of the election.
Biden’s advisers believe that framing the election as a choice between Biden and Trump will help voters recognize the significant implications, potentially overshadowing concerns about a second term for Biden.
Polling indicates that a substantial percentage of Biden supporters see their vote as against Trump, and Biden plans to take this argument directly to the American people in the lead-up to the election.
In a speech from the State Dining Room, Biden used Trump’s name 10 times, delivering one of the most forceful condemnations of his predecessor from the White House.
This marks a significant departure for Biden, who had previously avoided explicitly mentioning Trump’s name. Biden’s advisers assert that he is determined to present a clear message about the stakes involved in the failed immigration bill and Trump’s role in its demise.
