Preparing for a Showdown with Trump
President Joe Biden’s campaign is gearing up for the 2024 election, focusing its efforts on key battleground states and honing its argument against former President Donald Trump. A campaign strategy memo shared with CNN reveals Biden’s plan to center his campaign on the threat to democracy posed by Trump, echoing the arguments he made in 2020. This comes amidst challenging polling data in hypothetical matchups against Trump and signs of tension within Biden’s coalition.
Defending Democracy: The Core of Biden’s Campaign
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, emphasized in the memo that the 2024 election will not merely be a choice between different governing philosophies. Instead, it will be about safeguarding American democracy and individual freedoms. The campaign is preparing for the likelihood of Trump being the Republican nominee, an outcome they consider inevitable. The memo outlines the campaign’s strategy to convince voters that Trump represents an “existential threat to democracy” through his ability to incite political violence and undermine democratic values and freedoms.
Building Infrastructure and Messaging
To make its case, the Biden campaign is bolstering its infrastructure and organization. This includes plans to establish its battleground state leadership by next month, focusing its messaging on key issues, and preparing for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to start campaigning early next year. The campaign expects to have “thousands of staff” in place by early summer, according to Chavez Rodriguez.
Trump’s Threat to Democracy
Chavez Rodriguez wrote that while the American people rejected Trump in the 2020 election, the threat he poses to democracy has only intensified. She accused Trump of running a campaign based on revenge and retribution, which she claims is at the expense of Americans’ freedoms. The Biden campaign is treating the upcoming election as a critical juncture for American democracy.
Trump Campaign’s Response
The Trump campaign responded to these allegations, with spokesman Steven Cheung accusing Biden of being an existential threat to democracy by weaponizing lawfare and disenfranchising voters. The White House has denied involvement in the numerous court cases Trump is facing.
Public Opinion and Polling
Recent polls suggest a close race in a potential 2024 Biden-Trump rematch. Polling in key battleground states has shown Biden trailing Trump in hypothetical head-to-head matchups. Despite these challenges, the Biden campaign remains confident, drawing on the experience of being underestimated in 2020 and making a comeback after the South Carolina primary.
Biden’s Campaign Trail
Expect Biden, Harris, and other campaign surrogates to start campaign-focused travel and events in the new year. The campaign, based in Wilmington, Delaware, plans to scale its operations in the coming months, aiming to be “operating at full steam” by early summer.
Strategic Hiring and Coalition Building
The campaign has already hired over 70 full-time staff members and is working closely with the Democratic National Committee and state parties across the country. This marks a shift from previous strategies, with Biden embracing the DNC early on and sharing his 2020 campaign’s fundraising and supporter data in 2021.
Addressing Strains within Biden’s Coalition
Despite these preparations, there are tensions within Biden’s political coalition. Progressive and immigration advocates have expressed frustration over Biden’s border policy concessions. Young voters, who backed Biden by double digits in 2020, have shown signs of discontent, including over the administration’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Changing Perceptions on the Economy
Biden is also working to shift negative voter perceptions of the economy, which remains the top issue for voters heading into 2024. Despite positive economic indicators, public polling continues to show persistent pessimism about the economy. The Biden campaign is working to highlight the improvements in the economy under Biden’s leadership and contrast this with Trump’s economic record.