President Joe Biden and his campaign have been flat-footed dealing with the debate fallout.
President Joe Biden and his campaign have been flat-footed dealing with the debate fallout. While he did give an incredibly energetic speech in North Carolina the day after the debate, he didn’t shut the door on leaving as forcefully as he should. That was all the opening needed for speculation to continue to grow about whether he was or wasn’t going to leave the race eventually.
Nearly a week later, he finally got more blunt on a private call with campaign staff, saying, « Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can—as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running . no one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end, and we’re going to win. »
Undoing the president’s initial response is proving to be a challenging task.
Speculation is at a fever pitch inside the Beltway, even as polling shows no dramatic effect on the head-to-head matchup between former President Donald Trump and Biden. Some folks are trying to will their hopes of a new nominee into existence, and it will take much bolder, more robust action from Biden to tamp that all down and get back to the job of defeating Donald Trump.
This is the five-point plan to do so if the president truly is not going to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris:
Show Life and Vigor Beyond Speeches: This one is hard because the president has slowed physically. It’s been said before that Franklin Delano Roosevelt did his job from a wheelchair. Biden being stiff has nothing to do with his ability to be president. But it does have everything to do with perceptions, especially after the debate. Still, there are ways to show vitality while also highlighting his success. Head out to a recently completed road or bridge project completed because of the infrastructure law. Hop in the Corvette, rev it up loud, and drive it across with key partners driving across, too. Get as many union workers who completed the project as possible there, too. Slap some backs, shake some hands. Bring Blue Collar Joe out.
