As President Joe Biden faces tough reelection prospects, we can surely count on him and his campaign to turn to desperate measures. We've already seen it before, when it comes to his penchant for bringing up debunked narratives and false talking points about former and potentially future President Donald Trump, and taking his words out of context on multiple occasions. But, the Biden reelection campaign is also trying to sell this image of the current president that people just don't believe in anymore, if they ever did.
Earlier this month, Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson was asked by Fox News' Will Cain about his endorsement of Biden in 2020. It's an endorsement he regrets making, and he won't be making an endorsement again for 2024. Given his explanation, it seems that he did believe Biden, and his support for the Democratic nominee, could bring people together.
He explained it was "one I thought was the best decision for me at that time," adding, "and I thought back then, when we talk about hate, you know, I'm in this position where I have some influence, and it's my job then, it felt like that then, it's my job now to exercise my influence and share this is who I'm going to endorse."
Perhaps even more telling is that Johnson also shared he's not making an endorsement this time because of what he realizes now that he didn't at the time. While he appreciates being the most followed American man in the world, "I also realize that what that [endorsement] caused, back then, was something that tears me up in my guts," specifically how "the division... got me." Explaining that endorsement, Johnson spoke of "unrest" and how "maybe we need a change," but also how he later realized that "the takeaway" was, "'Oh, man, that caused an incredible amount of division in our country.'"
He's thus avoiding making an endorsement this time "because [his] goal is to bring our country together!" So, Johnson gets it, but the Biden campaign is still counting on other people to believe Biden could be the one to do such a thing.
That brings us to just this week. Biden campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu was talking with CNN's John Berman about certain distinctions between the current president and Trump.
"How much of a coincidence is it that the president's going to Scranton and leaning into this [economic] message while Donald Trump just arrived, we're told, at a New York City courtroom this morning," Berman asked.
There's a few points right off the bat to unpack about that question. Trump is on trial in New York City due to weaponized and politicized charges brought by DA Alvin Bragg, who made the unprecedented move to charge the former president with felonies in the case when he could have brought the charges as misdemeanors, was using an untested legal theory, and after the statute of limitations had expired. Further, there was another contrast last month, when Biden arrived in New York City for a fundraiser, while Trump spoke on Long Island at the wake of a murdered NYPD officer, whose accused killer had been arrested 21 times before.
"Well, here's the incredible thing that that should be obvious to everybody. Joe Biden gets up every day fighting for the American people. He does what I call the hard work of governing well all the time. And he can focus on that because he focuses on bringing people together," Landrieu offered as his non-answer in response. "As you said, the former president is otherwise predisposed as a consequence of actions and things that he has done. And everything this guy touches turns the dirt."
Berman wasn't too thrilled with that answer, as he asked Landrieu "are you dancing around it for a particular reason?"
Perhaps because looking to jail the president's top political opponent isn't a good look?
After a bit of a back-and-forth, Landrieu found his footing and offered a more full response, though it was still a bunch of nonsense. "Well, you asked me the right question. The president is being the president. He's running the country. He's creating jobs. He's putting people back to work," he offered. "Donald Trump is stuck someplace else as a consequence of his own actions. The legal process will play out as it will. The American people see the contrast between the two. A guy that gets up the fight for people, or a guy that gets up to fight for himself and seeks retribution and revenge against anybody. The choice is going to be clear."
Landrieu may want to claim it "should be obvious to everybody," but it's really not. The Rock is one prominent example, but he's not the only one, as there are others like him. There's been plenty of op-eds slamming Biden's rhetoric against his political enemies, even before his infamous speech on the "battle for the soul of the nation" months before the 2022 midterms.
Bringing it back to the charges against Trump, Bragg's case may be the first, but it's not the only one. He's facing federal charges as well from Special Counsel Jack Smith, which highlights even more prominently how politicized and weaponized the Department of Justice (DOJ) is under the Biden administration.
Biden and his supporters are no doubt hoping that a conviction will look bad enough to cost Trump the election, even if it will be overturned on appeal, as it most certainly will be. Analysis from legal experts like Alan Dershowitz, though, as well as polls, have already spoken to how that hope could backfire.
Looking to jail one's top political opponent is not how one "focuses on bringing people together." It's not just Trump who the DOJ has gone after, but everyday Americans as well. Let's not forget how peaceful pro-lifers praying at abortion facilities have been charged and found guilty under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, how concerned parents at school board meetings have been targeted, as well as traditional Catholics.
A VIP piece from February 2022 highlighted how a poll from Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service found that a plurality of voters, at 43 percent, believe politics has gotten less civil since Biden took office.
Pew Research also asks Americans how they feel about their confidence level on whether Biden can "bring the county closer together." It turns out they're not very confident, and they haven't been.
In March 2021, only a slight majority said they didn't have confidence that Biden could indeed bring the country together, 52-48 percent. In January 2022, the split was 69-30 percent. In late November-early December 2023, it became even worse, with a split of 75-24 percent. A plurality, at 44 percent, said they were "not at all confident" he could. Of all the issues that respondents were asked about when it comes to the confidence people have in with Biden, it is his worst one. Even more embarrassing is how he campaigned on being a supposed unifier in 2020, and given Landrieu's talking points, looks to be doing so in 2024 as well.
One thing that Landrieu did say that is worthwhile for both campaigns to take to heart is a word of caution about the polls. He spoke about "the day where polls really matter," which he then used to claim "Joe Biden's going to be reelected as president of the United States." But, polls continue to show that this is going to be a particularly close and competitive race. Trump currently leads Biden by +0.2, according to RealClearPolling.