Biden's Subtle Jabs: Needling Trump During Criminal Trial Without Crossing the Line
President Joe Biden is avoiding direct comments about Donald Trump's ongoing criminal trial but is still making light-hearted jabs at his Republican challenger during public appearances.
Biden has made quips about Trump selling Bibles, struggling stock prices for Truth Social, and Trump's past suggestion of injecting bleach.
Biden intends to continue this approach, focusing on policy speeches and campaign events while subtly needling Trump without providing extensive trial commentary.
The Trump impeachment trial is expected to dominate news coverage in the coming weeks, making it challenging for President Biden to gain attention.
However, Biden plans to continue promoting policy accomplishments, such as a $6 billion investment in Micron announced in Syracuse, New York, on Thursday.
Some Biden allies express concerns about competing for attention, especially since Biden is facing an enthusiasm deficit among Democrats and lack of knowledge about his first-term achievements.
Despite these challenges, Biden's team believes the contrast between the two men's schedules will help highlight their differences for voters.
Biden's approach to Trump's impeachment trial has been generally well-received, even by some of his critics.
They believe he should avoid getting too involved in the trial's details but see it as an opportunity to discuss his vision for the future and contrast it with Trump's focus on the past.
The trial has occasionally intruded into Biden's events, such as when a crowd chanted "Lock him up" during a video of Trump at an endorsement event.
The Biden campaign has been using the ongoing Trump trial to highlight the contrast between the two candidates.
They have criticized Trump's lack of campaigning and accused his team of wasting money and acting negatively.
Biden's campaign spokesperson, James Singer, has made personal comments about Trump's business, Bibles, and hair.
However, directly commenting on Trump's legal issues is considered a risky move as it could give credence to Trump's false claims that Biden is behind his indictments and criminal cases.
President Biden's advisers believe that the November election will be decided on issues such as the economy and abortion rather than the ongoing criminal trial of former President Trump.
To emphasize his policies on these issues, Biden has been traveling extensively, visiting four states in the first two weeks of the trial to discuss clean energy, reproductive rights, and manufacturing.
This schedule is expected to continue throughout the trial, which is scheduled to last until mid-June.
Most recently, Biden visited Tampa, Florida, to criticize Republicans on abortion.
Previously, he had visited battleground states Pennsylvania and Virginia during the trial's jury selection and the first day of the trial, respectively.
The Biden campaign is sticking to its previous strategy of grassroots organizing while Trump focuses on social media during the impeachment trial.
The campaign is using the trial as an opportunity to recalculate and plan for the spring to November period.
There is no formalized approach from the White House or campaign to turn the trial developments into strategy.
The campaign is sending out sharp criticisms of Trump's absence from the campaign trail and lagging fundraising.
CNN reports that instead of actively engaging in the unfolding events, Americans are primarily watching the news coverage on television.