Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden isn’t getting much face time with the American public, but he seems to be okay with that.
The Biden campaign is adding a whole new meaning to the word “surrogate,” as it is mainly his wife and his staffers doing the campaigning while he continues to hide from voters, the Washington Examiner reported.
Mental fitness questioned
Many critics, including President Donald Trump, have said that Biden is not mentally fit for the presidency and that he would most likely not be the one actually governing if he wins in November.
Trump and his allies have accused Biden of “hiding in his basement” at his home in Delaware, and he has received scant media scrutiny with just weeks to go before the election.
As the Examiner notes, Biden’s wife Jill and campaign manager Kate Bedingfield both appeared on Fox News in a single 24-hour period, where they responded to criticisms about Biden’s absence and suggestions that his policies are far more radical than his “moderate” branding implies.
In a contentious interview, Fox News personality Dana Perino candidly pressed concerns that Biden would be a mere “vessel” of left-wing extremists, with Mrs. Biden responding, “Joe’s a moderate. That doesn’t mean that his ideas aren’t progressive and bold and forward-thinking, but he’s not someone who’s left, and he’s not someone who’s right, he’s a moderate.”
A campaign about nothing
“Moderate” is one way of describing a campaign that often seems to be about everything and nothing at the same time. Indeed, a good follow-up to the question, “where’s Joe?” might be “what does Joe Biden actually believe?”
Biden’s main pitch is that he is not Donald Trump, but beyond that, his positions on everything from immigration to abortion have shifted drastically under pressure from progressive activists.
The Trump campaign has been eager to convey an impression that Biden has no convictions of his own and that he is simply the puppet of others desperate to grab power, wanting to obtain it with as little inconvenience as possible. Recently, there has even been a push by some Biden allies to have the candidate skip the presidential debates altogether, and though most proponents of that strategy won’t admit it, they are probably motivated by a real concern that he would over-expose himself and his weaknesses.
Still, Biden’s surrogates have done everything they can to try and keep up appearances.
“We have agreed to those three debates. We will be there,” campaign manager Bedingfield said. “We are waiting for the Trump campaign to agree as well and we are looking forward to them showing up because there are incredibly important differences here that Joe Biden is looking forward to highlighting on the debate stage.”
Voters will see “important differences,” alright. If Biden can’t run his own campaign, how will he be the leader of the free world?
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