President Biden’s reelection campaign referred to former President Trump as a “broke don,” borrowing from a strategy his political opponents are familiar with.
Trump has used nicknames to disparage his opponents, ranging from “Little Marco” to “Crooked Hillary” to “Lying Ted.” For much of 2020, Biden’s nickname was “Sleepy Joe,” courtesy of Trump.
The Biden team has been working this week to highlight the former president’s slow fundraising for the 2024 election, but is now turning the tables to stick with President Trump.
Trump has nicknamed dozens of his opponents since he first ran for president. Over the years, that has included not just fellow presidential candidates, like when he called Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) “Pocahontas,” but ultimate rivals like “Cryin'” Chuck Schumer. (DN.Y.), Senate Majority Leader and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whom he calls “Crazy Nancy.”
Some are considered offensive, while others are just stupid name-calling.
The Biden team is now trying to blame the former president by making fun of his debts amid mounting legal penalties, but some Democrats are questioning whether it’s the right move.
“The Biden team’s instincts to capture a free media and attack under his skin are correct. But while they’ve tried to imitate Trump before, they’ve never actually worked. There wasn’t,” one Democratic strategist said.
“You can’t top Trump, because he’s the original version. They need to be more creative in creating their own unique strategies to bring down shock and awe nails on him.” I say there is,” the strategist added.
Bruce Melman, a former senior official of President George W. Bush, warned against such tactics, quoting Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw.
“George Bernard Shaw famously advised, ‘Never wrestle a pig, because you’ll both get dirty and the pig will be happy,'” Melman said.
The Biden campaign announced this week that after election filings released Wednesday showed Trump’s 2024 campaign raised $10.9 million last month and a joint fundraising committee raised nearly $11 million. He tried out the nickname “Broke Don.” It has about $42 million in cash on hand.
Meanwhile, Mr. Biden’s campaign raised about $53 million in February and had $155 million in cash in March, more than Mr. Trump’s campaign funds.
Trump is also facing more than $500 million in fines stemming from two civil lawsuits in New York state. Biden also teased this, telling a crowd at a fundraiser this week that “losers” came up to him and said, “I’m crushed in debt.”
“I had to say, ‘Sorry, Donald, I can’t help you,'” Biden joked.
A former Trump transition official argued that the Biden campaign’s resort to slander is another reason people are dissatisfied with both parties.
“America is losing its perch as a great beacon of democracy. There is fault on both sides,” the official said.
Some find Biden’s approach refreshing.
“Gone are the days of ‘when the market goes down, it goes up.’ No one is saying the president needs to jump into the mud with President Trump, but it’s nice to see him get his hands dirty.” said Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins. “Bullyers don’t understand concepts like diplomacy or goodwill and only react when they get hit back.”
The president and his allies have stepped up their ridicule of Trump in recent weeks.
At one point this week, Biden’s campaign said Trump would “fire him” if his campaign fundraising numbers went up on “The Apprentice,” the NBC show that catapulted Trump to stardom. To all the contestants.
Mr. Biden also called Mr. Trump a “loser” multiple times during the campaign, and on Thursday at a fundraiser in Houston, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) confronted challenger Colin Allred. (D-Texas) said he would like to see the congressman lose, “so Ted can join Donald Trump in being a loser.”
Criticisms of Mr. Trump’s shaky finances are particularly pertinent given the former president’s successful career as a New York real estate mogul.
2024 election coverage
The Democratic strategist argued that while Trump leans toward negative campaigning against his opponents, Biden has a different personality from his political opponents.
“What makes Mr. Trump unique is that from the first day he became a candidate in 2015, he has been the main force behind a negative campaign without the use of proxies, advertisements, election officials, hot mics, or other proxies. That’s true,” said a Democratic strategist.
“I don’t know if Mr. Biden has any idea that he’s going to be a vehicle for intellectual fraud or a circus performance, but that kind of sensational approach to politics is what gets media attention,” the strategist said. It is what voters ultimately consume,” he added.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
