‘No comment’: President Joe Biden wants to stay away legal problems of Donald Trump, aware that he will have to tread thinly if he is to profit politically from the impeachment of his potential rival in the 2024 election.
The US president, who has not officially launched his re-election campaign, knows that any comment on his predecessor’s impeachment could fuel the Republican tycoon’s thesis that he is the victim of a political use of justice.
The Democratic president also tries with his silence not to obscure the image he is trying to convey: that of a head of state focused on his task, who came for example on Friday to comfort the inhabitants of a small town in Mississippi (south) devastated by a tornado.
Before his departure, Biden stopped to assist reporters waiting for him on the lawns of the White House. He could have gone straight to his helicopter, like he usually does. But he wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t going to say anything.
“I have no comments“I’m not going to talk about Trump’s impeachment,” Biden said.
Political emotion for an unprecedented case
In an unprecedented situation For a former US president, Trump was indicted on Thursday in a case related to the silence buying of a porn actress before the 2016 election.
In the face of this historic accusation, the White House “doesn’t want to fuel the political debate,” former spokesperson for the Democratic president Jen Psaki told MSNBC on Thursday.
Biden is betting on what is known in the United States as the “split screen” effect.. On the one hand, a working head of state. On the other, a former president paralyzed by judicial problems.
On Fridays, Trump denounced a ‘witch hunt’ from his luxurious residence in Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Promises and comfort in Mississippi
Biden, wearing aviator sunglasses and a presidential seal cap, meandered between collapsed homes and fallen trees in Rolling Fork, a site devastated by a deadly tornado.
In this modest African-American majority town, the president, assuming a role he loves, has had words of comfort and promises of help to rebuild.
“You guys built your lives here. We’re going to make sure you can stay,” Biden said.
Another example for next week: Biden is due to travel to Minneapolis on Monday (Minnesota, north) to explain “how his economic policy created the largest job increase in history” and attracted investment, according to a White House statement.
Millions of dollars for the campaign
The next day, Trump is due in court in New York, where he will be fingerprinted, read an indictment, and take a regulatory photo.
Trump’s charge that he doesn’t bar him from campaigning or running for the 2024 presidential election could have a mobilizing effect on his own camp, helping him raise money.
In fact, after news of the indictment broke Thursday night, his team raised more than $4 million in 24 hours.
“More than 25% of the donations came from new benefactors,” the organization explained in a statement this Friday. According to the campaign, the average value of donations is $34.
On Thursday, several personalities of the American right, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, considered an ambitious rival of Trump, he joined the ranks behind the real estate mogul.
democratic expectation
But an easy Trump win in the Republican primary may serve Biden well.
The 80-year-old Democrat has already beaten him once and feels he can do it again. Biden also hopes that in the face of Trump, 76, the subject of his age hurt him less.
“I will be very lucky if I find myself facing the same man in the next election,” Biden said about a year ago.
A recent Marquette University Law School poll showed Biden head-to-head with Trump over voting intentions, with 38% each.
It remains to be seen what will happen to the independents and the undecided. In recent weeks, Biden has wooed them with arguments over the cost of living and defending health insurance, which he says Republicans want to dismantle.
A Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday indicates that 68 percent of Americans worry about their standard of living after retirement.
Source: AFP
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.