Senior Democrats are increasingly skeptical of Joe Biden’s fearmongering election strategy. Biden’s approach, focusing on January 6 and Donald Trump’s sham conviction in Manhattan, has the support of Biden’s inner circle, led by longtime aide Mike Donilon. They believe emphasizing the supposed threat to democracy will resonate with voters despite other critical issues like the economy and immigration dominating public concern.
Polls consistently show Biden either trailing or tied with Trump, with only a slight uptick, at most, following his lawfare conviction. Still, Biden’s core team remains steadfast in its commitment to the January 6 narrative. In March, Donilon predicted that as polling day draws near, the election’s “focus will become overwhelming on democracy,” and “the biggest images in people’s minds are going to be of January 6.”
Donilon thinks the 2017 protest, in which the only fatality was an unarmed woman shot by Capitol police, is comparable to 9/11, with close to 3,000 fatalities. He suggests that, as 2004 was “a 9/11 election,” 2024 will be a Jan 6 election.
“It is unclear to many of us watching from the outside whether the president and his core team realize how dire the situation is right now, and whether they even have a plan to fix it. That is scary,” a Democrat strategist told Axios.
The left-leaning news outlet notes, “Even with a once-in-a-century pandemic, Biden barely beat Trump by less than 45,000 votes across three states.”
Polling data indicates significant slippage in Biden’s support among crucial Democratic constituencies. Latinos, black voters, young voters, and union members are all turning away from him.
Democratic strategists increasingly fear the 81-year-old’s team is out of touch with the electorate’s priorities.
