Donald Trump Pushing ‘Obamagate’ To Distract Public And Damage Joe Biden, Says Democratic Strategist
In a Sunday op-ed penned for The Hill, longtime Democratic strategist Maria Cardona weighed in on President Donald Trump’s allegations against his predecessor, Barack Obama.
In recent weeks, Trump and his allies have regularly referenced “Obamagate,” a term surrounding claims that the former president sought to undermine the Trump administration. According to Cardona, “Obamagate” is Trump’s latest attempt to distract the public from his failures amid the coronavirus pandemic while also damaging Joe Biden’s White House bid.
The strategist pointed to polling, arguing that the public is not happy with how Trump has handled the government’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Cardona added that polls suggest Americans would rather have Biden in charge during a national crisis. Instead of dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak and gradually reopening the economy, Cardona wrote that Trump and his supporters have instead promoted an “absurd conspiracy theory.”
“The reality is that Obamagate is meant to obfuscate. It is designed to take voters’ minds off Trump’s coronavirus mess by making up something outlandish and scandalous about the former president and his vice president.”
Cardona noted that Biden is beating Trump in most national polls, suggesting that the president is lashing out because he is becoming increasingly nervous about his chances of winning in November.
According to the strategist, even though there is “no evidence” Obama attempted to undermine Trump, the president and his allies seem determined to draw the public’s attention to the supposed scandal. Soon after Trump “unleashed a whirlwind of Twitter fury,” conservative pundits and media figures began to push the narrative against the former president, she argued.
Cardona also touched upon the accusations Trump has leveled against Obama and Biden. The president has claimed that the two men were involved in the case pertaining to Michael Flynn because they sought to substantiate investigations into Russian election interference.
However, according to Cardona, neither Trump nor Biden did anything wrong or out of the ordinary. In fact, Obama “warned” Trump about Flynn’s alleged dealings with the Russian government. The strategist wrote that those events have not stopped Trump and his supporters from spreading a “juicy conspiracy theory” about the former president. Despite the efforts, she asserts that “Obamagate” accusations will not help Trump win the 2020 presidential election.
“The ‘Obamagate’ diversion will not work. It will delight Trump’s base, but it will further prove that Trump does not belong in the White House.”
Since leaving the White House, Obama has seldom commented on Trump’s job performance, but he appears to be moving off the political sidelines.
On Saturday, during a virtual address to graduates of historically black colleges and universities, Obama seemed to criticize the way the Trump administration has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than 24 hours later, Trump responded, describing Obama as “grossly incompetent.”
