Tag Archive: President Joe Biden

Kamala Harris presidential campaign goes all in on the “Freedom” theme

Written on August 1, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch

Vice President Kamala Harris, taking freedom back

As far back as 2013, we stressed the importance of Democrats framing their arguments in terms of promoting “freedom.” Specifically, we wanted to take that term back from the Republicans, because freedom is a deeply held American value, and we know that Democrats, not Republicans, are the ones who truly believe in it. The great news is that, in recent years, leading Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have been promoting the idea of “freedom.” While this trend might not have been too noticeable other than to folks who were specifically looking at Democratic messaging, Vice President and presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has amped up the “freedom” theme to the point where it is now on the radar of many voters and journalists. We couldn’t be more pleased with these developments.

Just in the past week, since Harris began her 2024 presidential campaign after being endorsed by President Biden, her first speech in Wisconsin strongly laid out the “freedom” theme. Initially, Harris stated that “we believe in a future … where every worker has the freedom to join a union.” Harris went on:

Ours is a fight for the future. And it is a fight for freedom. Generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom. And now, Wisconsin, the baton is in our hands. We who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will make sure every American has the ability to cast their ballot and have it counted. We who believe that every person in our nation should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence will finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks and an Assault Weapons Ban. And we who believe in reproductive freedom will stop Donald Trump‘s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies, and not have their government tell them what to do. And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as President of the United States, I will sign it into law. So Wisconsin, ultimately in this election, we each face a question: what kind of country do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate? …. Do we believe in freedom? …. And are we ready to fight for it?

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30 minutes of grief, then a pivot from Biden to Harris

Written on July 23, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch

The new 2024 election optics

We are big supporters of President Joe Biden. There have been many posts here outlining his accomplishments and tremendous successes, including:

–strengthening America’s economy and creating a record number of jobs;

–leadership and respect around the world, as well as expanding NATO;

–protecting the rights of women and minorities;

–successfully placing hundreds of federal judges on the bench, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson;

–forgiving over one hundred billions of dollars in student loans (despite Republican efforts to stop it); and more.

Likewise, we have laid out the reasons why President Biden deserved Democratic support for his presidential re-election efforts, such as the fact that he is the incumbent president who decided to seek another term, and that he won the 2024 primaries (with over 14 million Democratic votes) very handily.

But reality has taken a different turn. Whether events of the past few weeks are fair or not, President Biden has announced that he will no longer seek the nomination for president in 2024. Instead, Biden has fully endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the job.

Normally, we would want to spend days grieving over and processing what happened. However, with the 2024 elections just 105 days away, and the Democratic National Convention (where the presidential and vice presidential candidates are formally nominated) only 27 days from now, there is no time for that. Instead, we grieved for about half an hour, and then pivoted to Vice President Harris.

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Messaging Maxim #10: Don’t concede too much

Written on July 17, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Messaging Maxims

Democrats: more Batman, less Bruce Wayne

There are two things that Democrats keep doing lately which are not helpful to President Joe Biden or the Democratic Party’s chances in the 2024 elections. Both of them have to do with conceding too much to Republicans. First, we see a lot of variations of “Biden is old, but Trump is ______” (crazy, a Nazi, a felon, etc.) from Democrats. While the descriptions of Trump are true, the part that often gets left out is that Donald Trump is also old. He’s nearly the same age as Biden. Moreover, Trump has displayed more signs of physical and cognitive impairment than Biden, from struggling with ramps and water bottles, to forgetting family members’ and opponents’ names, and others. Therefore, the “Biden is old but Trump …” statements are too weak.

Second, we see Democrats repeating mainstream “news” media memes that, we should all know by now, skew Republican. An example of this has occurred this week. The stock markets are hitting new records, in large part because inflation has been tamed on President Biden’s watch, and the business and banking communities are expecting the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates sooner than later as a result. However, a number of financial news articles, such as this one from Reuters on Tuesday have added a third reason:

increasing expectations of a second Trump presidency in the wake of a failed assassination attempt raised hopes of a looser regulatory environment.

That is a crazy premise for a news report. While plenty of folks across the political spectrum wish Trump a speedy recovery, why would a failed assassination attempt “increas[e] expectations of a second Trump presidency”? On the contrary, according to Newsweek, “Donald Trump Does Not Get Post-Shooting Poll Boost.” Indeed, after a two-week media frenzy, President Biden is going into November’s election in an even stronger position, weathering the storm against him and now more likely to win than Trump, according to fivethirtyeight.com. Biden, not Trump, is therefore the Comeback Kid at the moment, and Democrats should never concede that Trump has a better chance to win, especially for the sole reason of being shot at.

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Five historic reasons why Biden is the one to beat Trump

Written on July 7, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

An “impaired” president and his wife

Since President Joe Biden‘s debate against Donald Trump on June 27, there has been a media feeding frenzy about Biden’s “performance” on TV. First, that kind of framing turns the position of president into something superficial, and leads to having actors and reality TV hosts vault to the top of voter preferences. No wonder Trump got himself elected once.

Fortunately, in the current presidential election, we have actual experience from history indicating that Joe Biden, who is not only the incumbent president but also the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, is once again the best choice to beat Trump again. That experience can be boiled down here to five lessons from history. The first three such lessons  were mentioned in our post from a few days ago, and we can simply repeat them here:

Moreover, changing presidential nominees — or worse yet, presidents — in the middle of an election is a prescription for disaster. In March 1968, for example, with the country in turmoil over the Vietnam War and amid harsh criticism from Democrats, incumbent President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not run for re-election. The result was Republican President Richard Nixon. Likewise, in 1972, a lack of vetting of the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Thomas Eagleton, led to surprise revelations about his mental health. After a tumultuous period, Eagleton was forced off the ticket and hastily replaced. The result was a massive Republican landslide, and the re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Then in 1980, Sen. Ted Kennedy launched a vicious primary challenge to incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. The Democrats lost to Republican Ronald Reagan in another landslide. While the mainstream media may love political instability, American voters do not.

These three lessons can be considered cautionary tales, i.e., reasons not to dump incumbent President Joe Biden just four months before the election. Biden was subject to primaries during the first half of this year, and obviously, that would have been the time to challenge his fitness to serve another term. President Biden won those primaries, and more than enough delegates to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, easily.

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Joe Biden and Mark Cavendish — a tale of two old warriors

Written on July 4, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Bike racer Mark Cavendish, the Manx Missile

Right now, the Tour de France bicycle race is taking place. It is considered one of the most grueling of all sports events; essentially the equivalent of running several marathon races a day, every day, for 21 days straight. The terrain and conditions include mountains, cobblestones, headwinds, rain, and oppressive summer heat. Such a sport is, naturally, a young man’s game. Age 39 in the Tour is considered ancient.

Yet, one of the biggest stories of this year’s Tour de France is the return, out of retirement, of 39 year-old racer Mark Cavendish. A sprinter from the Isle of Man, known as the Manx Missile, Cavendish was tied for the record for most Tour de France stage wins (34), and desperately wanted to break that record. Last year, Cavendish entered the Tour with the hope of breaking the record, and announced that he would retire afterward. Unfortunately, he crashed and broke his collar bone during the early stages, without the win. Cavendish has had many bad days as a bike racer, including a number of serious crashes and injuries, but he has always gotten back up on his bike. He ended his retirement to come back this year, and, with strong team supporting him, he won the stage yesterday and broke the all-time record.

If the parallels to President Joe Biden are not apparent, let’s name them:

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Lessons from the Biden – Trump presidential debate

Written on June 28, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

President Joe Biden on Memorial Day 2024

Last night, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump held their first presidential debate of 2024. We had predicted that the debate, hosted by CNN at its Atlanta studios with no live audience, would be “a bust.” It was, but in a slightly different way than we had thought. Many viewers and analysts seem to agree that Trump told tons of lies but was forceful and dynamic, and Biden told the truth but gave a very weak performance. We then learned afterward that Biden had a cold, which gave him a hoarse voice and other ill effects that hindered his performance.

The election is happening in just over four months, and a second, and probably final, debate between Biden and Trump is scheduled for September 10 on ABC. Presumably, Trump feels he did just fine last night and doesn’t have to do anything different next time. Thus, the question for Biden and the Democrats is, what lessons can be learned, and what is the best course going forward to maximize the chances of winning the election? Several things come to mind:

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The Biden – Trump presidential debate will be a bust

Written on June 25, 2024 by in Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch

Donald Trump may be unhappy with the debate rules

Are you tired of the media hype that surrounds events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars nowadays? Do you think they have become overblown and almost unwatchable? Don’t worry, you can add presidential debates to the list as well. As we have noted, the presidential debates have become inane and, due to their format, even cringeworthy. From inadequate response times to interruptions to flag pins, the debates are designed to provide more heat than light.

This year, the first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump takes place just two days from now, on Thursday, June 27. The debate is being hosted and aired by CNN at its Atlanta studios, and is receiving plenty of advance hype. Furthermore, two rule changes make this debate different from most presidential debates: First, there will be no live audience. Second, the candidate’s microphones will be muted unless the candidate has been prompted by the moderators to answer a question.

We think these changes will make Thursday’s Biden/Trump debate not only inane as usual, but extra boring. The audience often plays a part, cheering for their candidate, even when asked by the moderators not to do so. And the microphone muting will likely eliminate Trump’s childish outbursts when someone else is speaking, as Trump did so often to his Republican primary rivals, his Democratic opponents, and even the moderators in years past. Add to that the scheduling of this debate, during early summer when voters are probably thinking more about barbecues and camping trips than presidential politics, and we have the makings for a snooze fest.

Ultimately, this debate is likely to be a wash. It’s doubtful that either candidate will stumble so badly as to lose many votes, or give such brilliant, hard-hitting substantive responses as to win them. Rather, as often happens, when the debate ends, each candidate’s campaign officials and fans will quickly and loudly proclaim that their guy won. And then they’ll ask for donations.

Photo by Ron Cogswell, used under Creative Commons. https://is.gd/qGdeGt

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Biden hammers Trump with new ad campaign

Written on June 20, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Messaging Maxims

President Joe Biden, statesman

President Joe Biden‘s reelection campaign announced a new $50 million advertising campaign this week, aimed at drawing what is described as “contrasts” between Biden and his opponent Donald Trump in advance of their first debate scheduled for June 27. Based on the first ad released as part of this ad campaign (view the ad here), “contrasts” is a nice way to put it. The ad, titled “Character Matters,” begins by stating that Trump has “been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual assault, and he committed financial fraud.” The contrast part comes in next:

Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s been working, lowering healthcare costs, and making big corporations pay their fair share. This election is between a convicted criminal who’s only out for himself, and a president who’s fighting for your family.”

There are several reasons why this new Biden ad is so good. First, it forcefully goes on offense, something for which Democratic voters have been clamoring for decades, and for which we have been calling since the beginning of Messaging Matters. Second, Biden’s ad is accurate, as opposed to some deceptively edited or “deepfake” ad or video of the type that Republicans are now creating and distributing. Such accuracy is important both to maintain Democratic standards, and because, if the ad was inaccurate, the mainstream media would spend their time attacking it. Third, the ad contrasts Trump’s criminal convictions with Biden’s competent, effective work for Americans, adding the zinger that Trump is “only out for himself.” In short, the Biden campaign ad does a lot, in a simple way, in 30 seconds.

Moreover, this was just the first ad of the new Biden campaign effort. Suffice it to say, we cannot wait for the next one.

Photo by Number 10, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/AbBULo

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President Biden takes on Russia, dictators and Republicans at Normandy

Written on June 7, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging

The ultimate cost of freedom at Normandy

Marking the 80th anniversary of the allied “D-Day” invasion, President Joe Biden joined the leaders of America’s World War II allies (France, Britain, Canada and others) in Normandy, France yesterday, to deliver a powerful message to the world’s dictators and “bullies” (see video here). Describing World War II as being about “democracy” versus “dictators,” and likewise “the battle between freedom and tyranny,” Biden then said that, after defeating tyranny in World War II, “we established NATO, the greatest military alliance in the history of the world.” Biden then took on Russia‘s invasion and war against Ukraine, comparing it directly to World War II:

The struggle between dictatorship and freedom is unending. Here in Europe, we see one stark example. Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant bent on domination. Ukrainians are fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses, but never backing down…. The United States and NATO, and a coalition of more than 50 countries, standing strong with Ukraine. We will not walk away. Because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated, and it will not end there. Ukraine’s neighbors will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened. And make no mistake: the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine, to see if we let this illegal aggression go unchecked. We cannot let that happen. To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable.

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A tale of two Memorial Days

Written on May 29, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secy. Lloyd Austin at Arlington National Cemetery, 5/27/24

When then-U.S. Senator John Edwards campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2003 and 2004, one of his main themes was that “there are two Americas,” meaning those who are well-off economically (or who don’t face discrimination based on race, religion, gender, etc.), and the rest of us. Edwards was correct, but there is also another major divide in America: the divide between the political right and left. That right-left political divide often shows up, for example, in the “news” sources that people choose, from the powerful Republican media machine (Fox “News,” Newsmax, OAN, the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal, etc.) on the right to a smattering of blogs, which cannot compete with such Republican machine, on the left. And nowhere was this right-left political divide more on display last weekend than in the Memorial Day messages from President Joe Biden and his upcoming election opponent, Donald Trump.

President Biden, the father of a son who served in the military and who died prematurely (though he was not killed in combat), displayed his well-known patriotism, compassion and decency in his Memorial Day speech, given at Arlington National Cemetery. Some of Biden’s quotes included:

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