Staff Reports
Joe Biden, in a plot twist worthy of Hollywood, has picked up some of Donald Trump’s playbook strategies as he scrambles to rally his own doubting Democratic officials. The irony is palpable. The Democrats, who once mocked Trump’s unorthodox methods, now find their champion, Biden, residing in a very Trumpian predicament.
The incumbent president, with barely a speed bump in his primary run, is now entering the home stretch of the election with key Democratic figures questioning his viability. This scenario looks familiar to Trump’s 2016 saga, although the Republicans had initially taken Trump less seriously due to his outsider status and bombastic nature. However, while Trump faced an adversary solidly backed by her party, Hillary Clinton, Biden now contends with dissent within his own ranks.
Despite clear denials from Biden’s camp, it is increasingly difficult to dismiss the parallels between the two. Biden’s spokeswoman tries hard to highlight some fundamental differences, emphasizing Biden’s alleged respect for democracy and distancing him from Trump, who she brands a convicted felon still reeling from his 2020 loss.
But actions speak louder than publicist-crafted words. Post-debate, Biden’s tactics have echoed Trumpian maneuvers: spontaneous morning show calls, frequent press lashing outs, and boastful crowd size declarations. The seemingly unplanned 30-minute phone-in to MSNBC’s Morning Joe, a channel that once indulged Trump similarly during his campaign, culminated in Biden echoing Trump’s disdain for party elites and his indignation over being doubted.
In another case of déjà vu, Biden channeled Trump further by touting his rally attendance figures during a chat with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. When Stephanopoulos cautioned against comparing crowd sizes with Trump, Biden’s brassiness was on full display. This bravado was mirrored by his aggressive retorts to journalists questioning his candidacy viability, accusing them of getting everything wrong about the elections and sarcastically referencing the anticipated ‘red wave’ of the previous years.
Washington Examiner: Biden takes a Trumpian turn to salvage White House candidacy https://t.co/EPUiZ9PtWu
— Ian Hansen 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@IanHansenFeed) July 10, 2024
Biden even took a page from Trump’s showmanship with a surprise Presidential Medal of Freedom award for NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during the NATO summit—a move reminiscent of Trump’s emotional honor to Rush Limbaugh during a State of the Union address.
Policy-wise, Biden’s conservative shift concerning migration issues and his critique of Trump’s tariff plans while simultaneously expanding some of those tariffs nudges him further into Trump’s shadow. Despite Team Biden’s narrative that they’re modernizing Trump’s blunders with a more refined “tough on China” stance, the resemblance to strategies seen in the Trump era is uncanny.
As Trump chuckles from his campaign HQ, Biden’s attempts to redefine the political narrative by borrowing Trump’s controversial yet effective strategies won’t go unnoticed by eagle-eyed voters. Whether it’s imitation being the sincerest form of flattery or desperate measures in desperate times, one thing is clear: the Biden-Trump comparison has now moved beyond mere whispers to undeniable reality.
