6 Hottest Takeaways from Politico’s Deep Dive into Biden Re-Election Doldrums

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Politico’s Jonathan Martin has a lengthy but rich article about what President Joe Biden can do to win reelection as his campaign appears to flail. Martin talked to “dozens of Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans” about what Biden can do to defeat the GOP frontrunner and presumed candidate, former President Donald Trump, in 2024 and make up for his lagging — and concerning — poll numbers.

There is plenty of predictable advice, like ditching Bidenomics and going directly after Trump, but here are a few spicy takeaways from Martin:

1. Neutralize No Labels by Getting the Endorsements of Anti-Trump Republicans (and Joe Manchin)

Martin suggests making “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” part of the Biden campaign by actively courting never-Trump Republicans like former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), as well as old-school (if you consider the 2000s “old-school”), “trusted” Republicans like former Vice President Dick Cheney and former President George W. Bush. It looks wild, but Biden loves to tout his ability to bring people together across the aisle, and this is a great time to show on-the-fence Americans how much he’s willing and able to do that.

That said, he also needs to keep blue dog Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on his side of the aisle as well as the more moderate to conservative Democrats who are having trouble voting for Biden but would never vote for Trump. Someone like Manchin could bring those voters back — but only if he’s part of Biden’s camp and not gunning for his own votes as a No Labels candidate.

Martin writes: “These individuals may be reluctant to do so, but they can be prodded, charmed and shown the data detailing the danger of inaction.”

2. Bring Rahm Emanuel On the Campaign

Now that they’ve got the blue dogs, it’s time to bring in the mad dog. Former First Lady Michelle Obama famously said in 2016 about opponents of former presidential candidate and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “When they go low, we go high.” That, according to Martin, may not work for another round of Biden vs. Trump. Martin suggest that bringing in the current envoy to Japan and political wild man Rahm Emanuel to take over the reelection campaign:

Doing so would demonstrate a willingness by Biden to broaden his inner circle, create a manic urgency in the campaign that is Emanuel’s trademark and, by elevating one of the most ferocious operatives of our times, signal that when Trump goes low the Democrats will go fucking lower.

3. Biden Needs to Treat Reelection As a War — And Let the Clintons Take Over His Middle East Policy

Martin posits that Biden needs to fight two wars right now: one to stay in the White House and another overseas. Because of Biden’s age and the undeniable march of time, it’s impossible to believe that he’s up for this level of multitasking. (Gentle reminder that on top of campaigning and the Israel-Hamas War, he’s also still running the country.) That’s why he needs to bring back some White House taskmasters like former Chief of Staff Ron Klain to help run daily operations — and why he should bring in former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton to oversee the Middle East:

Dispatching the Clintons would show Biden’s commitment to a resolution, offer the former first couple a final mission that could be the capstone of their public lives and help channel their talents in more constructive ways than letting them chew over polling data and rage about Trump. …

It may sound far-fetched, but this is no time for small thinking. The moment demands all hands on deck.

4. Get “Shadow President” Barack Obama Out of the Shadows

While some politicos will tell you about tensions between the Obama and Biden camps (the “David Axelrod called Biden a Prick” story came out of this very article), the two remain close confidants. So close that some right-wing conspiracy theorists believe Obama is serving a “secret third term” along with his wife. Martin thinks Biden should run with that, put the Obamas, or at least the former president, front and center:

[I]f the right-wing fever swamps want to think Barack Obama is secretly in charge, well, let them. The country likes the former president and his ability to break through on the campaign stump is unparalleled.

5. Make Abortion the New Gay Marriage

If anything was learned from this year’s elections, it’s that abortion is a winner for Democrats and a loser for Republicans. Donald Trump will boast that he was responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade, and Republicans like Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) will die on the hill of abortion. But the vast majority of American voters support abortion rights — and Biden needs to remind people of that. Martin suggests that Biden “isn’t comfortable” talking about it, but that doesn’t mean he can’t get women surrogates to talk about it on his behalf, like his own vice president and governors across the country.

But Martin also pointed to another battleground of “values voters” that helped to bolster George W. Bush in the 2000s: gay marriage. Before marriage equality became the law of the land, it was on the state ballots where voters could choose. As support for marriage equality gained momentum, it made its way to the Supreme Court. This, Martin says, is what needs to happen with abortion, and it’s how Biden can convey popular pro-choice messaging on the state level where Democrats win.

6. Talk About Hunter … Even Though They May Not Want to

One of Biden’s biggest albatrosses, as much as he doesn’t want to discuss it in public, is his troubled son Hunter Biden. While House Republicans try (and fail) to connect the younger Biden’s shady business dealings with the president, no one can deny those shady business dealings — to say nothing of Hunter’s indictments on gun charges — are real. It’s clear that Joe Biden loves his son and is standing by him, but Martin says it’s time to clear the air and talk about him:

Whenever Hunter Biden has a legal resolution, which the president may want to encourage sooner rather than later, schedule an interview with this White House’s favorite 60 Minutes interlocutor and answer every question.

It’s not actually that crazy, especially when he keeps making headlines every time he brushes off questions about his son.

Read the full article at Politico.