If anyone thought Joe Biden would revel in Donald Trump’s criminal conviction, they were mistaken. Instead, Biden’s campaign delivered a sober reminder: the real way to keep Trump out of the White House is through the ballot box.
The challenge for Biden now is to leverage Trump’s historic conviction without appearing to politicize the prosecution, a delicate balance given the fervor of Trump’s supporters.
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law,” said Michael Tyler, Biden campaign communications director. “But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.”
The White House took an even more reserved approach following Trump’s conviction on all 34 counts in his hush money case. “We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment,” said Ian Sams, spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office.
Biden himself remained silent, spending the day at his home in Delaware, which marked the nine-year anniversary of his son Beau’s death from brain cancer.
Trump’s conviction, which would typically be a fatal blow in any other election year, comes amid polls showing Biden neck and neck with Trump nationally and trailing in key swing states. Biden has occasionally joked about Trump’s legal issues but has generally remained muted.
The question now is whether Biden will maintain this presidential distance or take a more aggressive stance. Democratic strategist Rachel Bitecofer believes the verdict is beneficial for Biden simply because, “I’m Joe Biden and I’m not a convicted felon.”
Biden’s campaign has already launched a social media fundraising effort in response to the verdict. Political analyst David Karol suggested that Biden doesn’t need to emphasize Trump’s conviction, as its significance speaks for itself. “It’s a big deal, it’s historic,” Karol said, adding that Biden would want to avoid the appearance of directing his opponent’s prosecution.
However, the temptation to address it during the first election debate on June 27 might be hard to resist.
David Axelrod, a former aide to President Obama, advised Biden against overemphasizing the conviction. “While Trump wallows in his own troubles, the right play for Biden may be to lean even more into the day-to-day concerns of people. The contrast would be powerful,” Axelrod suggested.
Biden might also be hesitant to comment given his own family’s legal issues. With his surviving son Hunter facing court on gun charges, Biden might prefer to steer clear of discussing court cases altogether, as noted by Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University.
