President Biden has ordered the White House to keep quiet about the criminal cases against Trump. Politically, Biden is giving Trump enough rope to hang himself.
President Joe Biden and his top aides have taken a vow of silence on the federal indictment of his predecessor, Donald Trump — and have explicitly ordered the national Democratic Party and his reelection campaign to do the same.
That directive was issued in recent days after Trump was hit with federal charges for his handling of classified documents after he left the White House, according to three people familiar with the instructions.
Biden Knows How To Handle Trump
The one thing that Trump wants most is to discredit the DOJ case by framing it as a political attack against him. Trump only has one tiny playbook that he has been using since 2015. Trump must drag Biden into his legal troubles to make himself and his Democratic opponent look equal. He successfully used this tactic against Hillary Clinton in 2016, tried it in 2020, and is trying it again in 2024.
Trump’s whole style is built on false equivalence and tabloid-style fighting, and when Biden denies him the fight, the former president is denied the oxygen that his bogus attacks need to gain traction.
It is an intelligent strategy that frustrates and infuriates Trump.
Biden Knows That Trump Will Self-Destruct
Biden has understood from day one that if Trump has all of the media air, he will self-destruct. Trump is too unstable and undisciplined not to combust. Trump loses more votes outside of the Republican Party each time he opens his mouth. Trump is drowning, politically speaking, and Biden knows better than to rescue him.
For decades, Joe Biden had a reputation for undisciplined speaking, but the President has beaten Trump, and will beat him again by showing discipline and giving Trump enough rope to hang himself.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association