At a time when he needs to hit back against his younger rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden continues to stumble — and some voters are noting that he seems to lack the energy to compete.
Amid falling poll numbers, Biden allowed his younger Democratic opponents to campaign circles around him in Iowa, causing many of his supporters to question his ability to keep up.
Sluggish candidate
“This is my second time I’ve went to see Biden speak when he’s been in Iowa. I like how he made his speech different for the holiday, but he seemed a bit tired,” Kathy Schilling, 62, explained to the Washington Examiner at an event in Marshalltown.
Biden, 76, kept a light schedule during his Independence Day weekend trip to Iowa. He scheduled just four events over a two-day period, including a parade and a baseball game.
Meanwhile, Biden’s rivals kept themselves busy over the holiday weekend with multiple campaign stops that put them in close contact with Iowa voters. California Sen. Kamala Harris held five campaign events in just a few days, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — who is a year older than the former vice president — attended nine events over three days.
Hands-off approach
This hands-off approach to campaigning is cause for concern among Biden’s supporters, especially following recent polls that show the former Delaware lawmaker’s once-promising lead slipping. A Focus on Rural America poll released Wednesday showed Biden in third place among Iowa voters, with a 17% approval rating.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was leading the pack in the battleground state at 20%, and Harris followed closely behind with 18%. Although Biden continues to lead in national polls, his once impressive lead fell by 10 points following a weak showing in the Democratic primary debates, according to polls by Morning Consult and FiveThirtyEight.
In Iowa, Biden lambasted the Republican president. “It’s not enough to be against the way Donald Trump conducts himself — the way he assaults the dignity of women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals — we have to be against his policies that are further entrenching economic inequality in this nation,” he said in Marshalltown. “That too is an attack on our democracy — on our liberty. That’s the message I’ve been taking all across this nation.”
Playing it safe
If Biden has been a strong critic of Trump, he has backed himself into a corner by vowing to not attack his fellow Democrats — an impossible promise to keep in a close primary race. However, he did admit in a recent interview with CNN that his campaign aides were gathering dirt on his opponents.
“I mean, I get all this information about other people’s pasts, and what they’ve done and not done. And you know, I’m just not going to go there. If we keep doing that — I mean, we should be debating what we do from here,” Biden said, referring to the crowded field of 24 Democratic presidential hopefuls.
When asked about his debate performance following a parade in Independence, Iowa, Biden seemed unconcerned. “I’m still way ahead,” he said.
“Look, she’s a good person, she is smart as can be, and she feels strongly,” he said of Harris, who attacked his record on desegregation and other racial issues during their first primary debate. He added that his opponent’s remarks “came out of nowhere” and “didn’t seem to be something at all consistent with anything I’d been accused of before.”
“Let’s move on and talk about what do we do now,” he said.
Biden’s play-it-safe approach to campaigning is starting to fall apart. It’s going to be a long road to the White House if he hopes to get there from the sidelines.
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