According to a new report from The Washington Examiner published on Thursday, Democrats want their presidential nominee Joe Biden to continue his strategy of staying “in hiding place.”
Since winning the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, the former vice president has maintained a low profile. The coronavirus pandemic — which rendered conventional political campaigning impossible — effectively forced Biden to stay out of the limelight, while President Donald Trump held daily press conferences.
Initially, those close to Biden were reportedly worried that the Democrat would slip in the polls, letting Trump surge ahead. That has not happened. In fact, according to most recent surveys, Biden has a comfortable lead over Trump, whose administration has struggled to deal with the pandemic, record unemployment and nationwide protests.
For instance, a CNN poll released earlier this week put Biden 14 points ahead of Trump nationwide. The survey also found that the president’s approval rating is at its lowest point since January of last year. Similarly, a recent Gallup poll showed that Trump’s approval ratings have dropped among all voter groups, with only 39 percent of independents and five percent of Democrats approving of his performance in office.
Democratic strategists and operatives now reportedly believe that the 2020 presidential election is shaping up to be a referendum on Trump, which has allowed Biden to pitch himself as the “generic Democratic alternative” to the struggling incumbent.
As University of Virginia elections analyst Kyle Kondick explained, “Biden’s lower profile makes it easier for the election to become a referendum.”
According to Republican strategist Alex Conant, maintaining a low profile has not hurt Biden much because he is a well-known national figure, which means he does not need to “define” himself to voters. Trump, meanwhile, has been making strategic mistakes, Conant suggested.
“Trump keeps bringing the focus back to himself. On days when they want to be talking about Biden’s crime bill, Trump is, you know, tweets about a conspiracy theory and completely upends the campaign strategy.”
The strategist added that the dynamic could change once the public turns its attention to Biden. “The spotlight will move to Biden at some point in the future. We’ll have to see if the numbers change when that happens,” he said.
Although the president appears determined to remain the center of attention, his campaign has made attempts to redefine Biden, blasting him for allegedly being weak on China and supporting left-wing calls to defund police departments. The campaign has also questioned the former vice president’s cognitive abilities.
