Calling 72-year-old President Donald Trump and “existential threat” to the nation, former Vice President Joe Biden borrowed a phrase from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he called Iran an “existential threat” to Israel Jan 24, 2012. Calling Trump an “existential threat” to U.S. democracy, Biden reprises former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton 2016 campaign against Trump, linking the New York real estate tycoon to the Kremlin. Hillary’s plan failed Nov. 4, 2016 when Trump won the presidential election, defying his Democrat, Republican and media critics, all of whom predicted a Hillary landslide. Biden told a small Davenport, Iowa crowd that Trump posed an “existential threat” if given another four years in office. Responding to Biden’s attacks, Trump called Biden a “loser” whom former President Barack Obama picked up “off the trash heap.”
When a Quinnipiac Poll showed that Biden beats Trump in national election by 11%, Trump went for the jugular saying he would prefer running against Biden because he’s “weak minded.” “He’s a different guy,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn before going to Iowa. “He looks different than he used to. He acts different than he used to. He’s even slower than he used to be,” giving an X-ray into his strategy against the former Vice President. Trump’s remark echoed Fox News, talking about Biden’s age and possible cognitive decline. Of course Democrats and the media have been talking about Trump’s cognitive and personality issues, or his lack of fitness for office. Groups of mental health professionals have bandied together to demand that Congress remove Trump from office under the 25th Amendment. Trump’s thoughts mirror those of others watching Biden.
Getting small crowds in Iowa, it’s clear from Biden’s strategy that he plans to ride the polls showing him beating Trump, not to press large rallies where he’s capable of making big mistakes. Biden’s handlers are content to pace his speeches in small venues, not try to compete with Trump in big venues where the president commands a mass audience. “I’d rather run against Biden than anybody—I think he’s the weakest mentally,” Trump said. “I like running against people are weak mentally. I think Joe is the weakest up here. The other ones have much more energy,” Trump said, stating the obvious. Since Biden jumped into the race April 25, he’s eclipsed at least 22 other Democrat candidates, preferring to let the polls do the talking. Biden’s strategy is to let the polls eclipse all other Democrat candidates, giving him an air of inevitability before the first Democrat debate June 26.
Stepping up attacks on Trump makes Biden look like he’s the inevitable nominee when, in reality, the Democrat primary campaign has barely started. Biden’s Iowa speech denounced everything Trump, putting him into the same category as late night talks shows whose ratings improve when they attack Trump. Biden’s strategy is obvious: Go after Trump, making him look like he’s best equipped to go against Trump in 2020. “It’s easy to be tough when someone else is feeling the pain,” Biden plans to tell voters in Ottumwa, Iowa. How many sleepless nights do you think Trump has had over what he’s doing to America’s farmers? Zero!” said Biden. Biden got a tough row to hoe talking about the weak U.S. economy when, in fact, Wall Street’s near record highs and the economy’s poised for strong growth. Democrats haven’t figured out how to attack Trump’s low unemployment economy.
Biden’s attacking everything Trump, knowing that it gives him an advantage over his Democrat rivals. It’s not like other Democrat candidates aren’t attacking Trump. But because the media’s already anointed Biden as the heir-apparent for the Democrat party, other Democrat candidates, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Tx.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), strongly oppose the media’s bias toward Biden. When Biden faces extemporaneous debates in a few weeks, it remains to be seen how well he’ll do. “I heard his whole campaign is to hit Trump,” the president said. “When a man has to mention my name 76 times in a speech, that means he’s in trouble,” Trump said, recognizing that Biden’s fixated on attacking him. Attacking Trump gives Biden the appearance that he’s already representing the Democratic Party as its nominee.
Calling Trump an “existential threat” to the U.S., Biden hopes to sway enough voters that he’s the best Democrat to take on Trump in 2020. Yet other Democrat candidates have their talking points about policy down better than Biden, who’s more focused on making Trump the enemy than talking policy. Trump feels buoyed by a recent Rasmussen poll showing he’s cracked through the 50% approval rating. While the Quinniapiac poll showed Trump at 42% approval rating, it’s remarkably high considering he’s been under the dark cloud of the Mueller investigation for the past two years. “The amazing thing is, all I do is get hit by this phony witch hunt,” Trump said, referring to the now concluded Mueller investigation. With Democrat House Committees investigations in full swing, Democrats hope they can keep the Mueller investigation going until the 2020 election.
