Reid J. Epstein, a politics correspondent for The New York Times, discusses the challenges President Biden faces in campaigning for re-election. Topics include Biden's struggle to sell his record to voters, navigating the age question in his campaign, the importance of abortion as an energizing issue, and analyzing Biden's campaign strategy for 2024.
Despite presiding over a strong economy and passing bipartisan legislation, Biden struggles to convey a positive message to voters due to high prices and lack of immediate visible results from significant legislation on infrastructure and climate investments.
Biden's focus on upholding democratic norms and protecting democracy has not resonated strongly with voters, as swing voters prioritize other issues over democracy and voters interested in democracy as an issue already likely support Democratic candidates.
Deep dives
Biden's Struggles to Campaign on His Accomplishments
Despite presiding over a strong economy and passing bipartisan legislation, Biden has struggled to convey a clear message to voters. The economy, which is booming according to indicators, does not feel positive to people due to high prices and other factors. Additionally, Biden's significant legislation on infrastructure and climate investments has not translated into immediate visible results, making it difficult to campaign on these achievements.
Democracy as an Election Issue
Biden's focus on upholding democratic norms and protecting democracy has not resonated strongly with voters. Although Democrats have found success running on the issue of abortion at the state level, it has not had the same impact for Biden's campaign. Voters who are interested in democracy as an issue are already likely to support Democratic candidates, and swing voters tend to prioritize other issues over democracy.
Navigating Biden's Weaknesses
One of Biden's significant challenges is combating public perception of his age, as voters often express concerns about his vitality and ability to remember things. To address this, Biden has made jokes about his age and reduced the intensity of his campaign schedule. Biden's campaign strategy has also shifted to rely on surrogates to campaign for him and maintain focus on defeating Trump rather than highlighting his own strengths.
Yesterday, we went inside Donald Trump’s campaign for president, to understand how he’s trying to turn a mountain of legal trouble into a political advantage. Today, we turn to the re-election campaign of President Biden.
Reid Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, explains why what looks like a record of accomplishment on paper, is turning out to be so difficult to campaign on.
Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a politics correspondent for The New York Times.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
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