After his poor performance in last week’s debate, US President Joe Biden’s campaign has opted for a two-pronged strategy to emerge from the crisis: appearing normal and focusing on trumpeting the “threat” that former President Donald Trump would pose to American democracy.
Sources close to the Democratic Party told EFE that, in particular, an intense public relations effort is being carried out, with several calls and meetings to reassure major donors, members of Congress and other elected officials.
In fact, over the weekend, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) held a call with dozens of its members, including some of the party’s most important figures, and the campaign also reached out to major donors.
In addition to these talks, other options are being considered to improve Biden’s public image and portray him as energetic and in control, as opposed to the image he projected during the June 27 debate with Trump, when he appeared aged, with a hoarse voice and difficulty finishing several of his sentences.
To do this, one possibility would be to give a high-profile interview to a media outlet or hold a packed press conference, a type of public appearance he has resorted to less frequently than his predecessors since arriving at the White House in January 2021.
At a fundraiser in New York state on Saturday (29), Biden himself was willing to give an interview and said he had spoken to popular radio host Howard Stern about returning in the near future to his show, where he appeared in April to answer open-ended questions focused mainly on his biography.
Biden wants to sell the appearance of normality
When deciding what type of public appearance the president will make, the strategy has been to appear normal.
According to the White House public agenda, Biden participated in a briefing on extreme weather conditions in Washington on Tuesday (2) and will then hold a campaign rally in Virginia.
On Wednesday (3), he will preside over a Medal of Honor ceremony and on Thursday, July 4, US Independence Day, he will participate in the traditional White House barbecue.
After that, he will spend the weekend at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware, as if it were just another week with nothing out of the ordinary.
Furthermore, according to members of his electoral team, the president will continue campaigning as before in key states for the November elections, in the same way he has done in recent months.
Focus on Trump
What the campaign wants to do is put the spotlight on Trump, especially after yesterday the US Supreme Court granted partial immunity for “official acts” by American presidents during their terms in office.
Quentin Fulks, deputy campaign manager for the president, said Biden will speak directly at his campaign events about “the reasons why Americans should fear Donald Trump,” in reference to the 2021 Capitol riot.
Following this strategy, Biden spoke to the press at the White House on Monday night (1st) to make it clear that the decision sets a “dangerous precedent” and considered that it is now up to the American people to “make a judgment” about Trump’s behavior, in reference to the November elections.
At the end of his presentation, which he made while reading from a teleprompter and lasted about five minutes, the president did not answer the questions that journalists asked him about the debate and about the criticism that arose within his own party.
So far, Biden has shown no signs of withdrawing from the race for the White House, and influential figures in the Democratic Party, such as former President Barack Obama, have rallied around him.
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