Biden’s Coyness on Trump Indictments Ignites Worry Among Allies

Allies of President Joe Biden are reportedly worried about his coy approach in addressing former President Donald Trump’s indictments, as Trump has for months accused Biden and his Department of Justice (DOJ) of a political witch hunt aimed at keeping him out of the White House. 

NBC News reported on the growing concerns of “potentially perilous consequences” among “some Biden allies” in his avoidance of addressing the indictments. One such example is failed 2022 Democrat Senate candidate Tim Ryan of Ohio, who thinks Biden needs to lead in attacking Trump over his slew of criminal charges — which have often been criticized by conservatives and legal minds.

“What Trump has done is so egregious, so beyond the pale that I think we all have to take a very firm and aggressive and hostile stand against him,” Ryan said. He argued Trump and his 18 co-defendants in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s indictment “literally tried to end the United States as we know it.”

Trump has for months tied Biden to the indictments with minimal pushback from the White House or the president’s campaign. Notably, two of them came from Biden’s DOJ after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special prosecutor in the Trump investigations. On August 10, after Smith requested a January 2 trial for the case concerning the 2020 election, Trump ripped the “Fake Biden Indictments” and slammed Smith as a “lunatic.” 

He wrote:

Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses. Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year,  and maximum Election Interference with IOWA! Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION. The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

His campaign also released an advertisement torching Biden’s “Fraud Squad,” which includes Willis, Smith, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg:

“How far will the most corrupt president in history go to keep Republicans from winning back the White House?” A narrator states at the top of the ad. “Meet the cast of unscrupulous accomplices he’s assembled to get Trump.”

But speaking about the indictments could tie Biden even closer to the Trump prosecutions, per NBC, and inadvertently amplify the narrative he “assembled” a “cast of unscrupulous accomplices” to stop Trump, as the 45th president’s campaign video alleges. 

Biden’s aides do not plan to enter the bare-knuckle portion of campaigning until the Spring, according to NBC News, but they intend to start working on building up a contrast in perception between him and Trump. And some Democrats agree that the leader of the free world should remain mum on the most historic and unprecedented legal proceedings in American history. 

CEO of Target Smart Tom Bonier, a Democrat operative, likened Trump’s cases to a “train wreck” and suggested Biden should not comment on the “obvious.”

“When a train wreck is occurring, you don’t need someone standing off to the side saying, ‘Look at that train wreck.’ It’s obvious,” Bonier said, adding that “Republican extremists” should be the focus.  

Biden zoned in on “MAGA Republicans” in his infamous speech outside of Constitution Hall in Pennsylvania last September. Bathed in an ominous red light and flanked by two Marines, Biden said MAGA Republicans “do not respect the constitution” and painted them as extremists.

“They promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country,” he added.

WATCH — Biden Calls MAGA Republicans “Violent,” “Extreme,” “Dangerous” While Ignoring Leftist Violence:

Biden’s “Soul of the Nation” speech was poorly received, especially among conservatives, and drew intense criticism. Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) condemned Biden, writing he “has chosen to divide, demean, and disparage his fellow Americans — simply because they disagree with his policies.”

Instead of trying to bring our country together to solve the MANY problems he has created, President Biden has chosen to divide, demean, and disparage his fellow Americans—simply because they disagree with his policies.

Mr. President: you owe millions of Americans an apology. pic.twitter.com/GPr5PEmutR

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 2, 2022

“Mr. President: you owe millions of Americans an apology,” he added.

“Standing in front of a hellish red background Biden called half the country, the MAGA Republicans ‘threats’ & ‘clear and present dangers,'” wrote former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEneny. 

I can’t believe this is a real photograph. It depicts the president of our nation, as he took to the airwaves and spoke about his fellow citizens as if they were sewer rats. pic.twitter.com/bWYxHJfqTa

— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) September 2, 2022

In lieu of targeting Trump in the indictment fallout, Biden has been working to reverse the narrative surrounding his performance in the economic arena — which has been a sore spot during his presidency. Supply chain woes, 40-year-high inflation, record-high gas prices, and a nationwide baby formula shortage all occurred under his leadership and undoubtedly were driving factors in lowering his approval rating, which averages at 41.8 percent on RealClear Politics.

Now, he has coined the phrase “Bidenomics” as a way to sell economic legislation passed under his administration, including the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act — which does not actually reduce inflation, and the CHIPs and Sciences Act. 

But while Biden is attaching his branding to the bills he signed into law, Democrat members of Congress in swing districts are steering clear of the term when touting the same legislation, if they even dare boast of the economy that voters perceive as poor.

Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), who barely won reelection, did not use the term once when speaking to constituents about the economy in August, the Washington Post reported.

“If you use the term, ‘Bidenomics,’ but somebody can’t afford their groceries, then they’re like, ‘Yeah, Bidenomics isn’t working for me,’” she said. Her posture suggests she may see affiliation with the term as a potentially risky prospect. 

Fellow vulnerable Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM) “is careful about pointing to economic progress — let alone crediting the president’s policies for it,” Politico noted on August 8. 

“I’m hyper-focused on the district. I think the most important job that a congressperson can do is first listen, and then react,“ Vasquez said. “And so I’m not going to go into my district pushing a Democratic agenda that people don’t feel is happening on the ground.”