(CNN) — A handful of Democratic governors last month broke the caucus to tell U.S. President Joe Biden directly what they've been urging behind the scenes: He needs to fight hard.
Democrats said A biton who needs to show more fire It was on display in a closed-door meeting with governors when Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte handed him a letter calling for more action on the southern border. According to two governors present, Biden flashed a smile.
“State of the Union,” Biden joked.
During this, this fighting spirit is expected to emerge State of Union address In prime time this Thursday, the president is expected to go even further than he's used to attacking corporations for extorting money from consumers and making profits. But with anger over inflation, bad vibes around the economy (even Cookie Monster's X account posted a message about inflation compression This Monday, prompting a response from the White House), Biden is going to a place he has long resisted in an effort to deflect the anger heaped on him in the polls.
Top Democrats say it's time to do just that.
Dozens of senior Democratic officials and activists who spoke to CNN said they were fed up with reports of the president cursing Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind closed doors in the Oval Office or telling donors he was Vladimir Putin. “Son of a Madman” and MAGA Republicans are worse than separatists. They want to see that passion and fire in public, as assurances that the president's behind-the-scenes behavior doesn't match public opinion of the 81-year-old commander are over.
“A lot of times you have to hear that from the candidate,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walls, who enthusiastically pledged to become one of the president's most vocal supporters. “Joe Biden is a good guy. People understand that. One of the things people wonder is, 'Is he strong enough to take these things on?'
Plus, Walls said, it would counter concerns that Biden is too old.
“I think it helps. He's still his age, but I think it helps protect it,” Walls said. “Ft [a Trump] Little. “He earned it.”
Several Democratic officials told CNN they were hesitant to say how much, weighing the risks of drawing even more attention to what Biden hasn't done by going public.
But privately, many speak wistfully of wanting more passion and pride (political drama, of course, but important, they say) at a time of widespread weariness with the process and Democratic anxieties about a second administration. Trump is getting old. They insist that Biden's effort to protect democracy shouldn't end with some sly maneuvering on Seth Meyers' late-night show. They argue that he should not be forced to deliver a speech on the anniversary of the uprising on January 6, 2021, and assume that this will fill his dynamic quota for more than two months.
“People want to see that he's a fighter, and he is. Anything that presents contrasts, I think is helpful, I'll support,” said New Jersey Gov. Bill Murphy, a longtime friend of Biden.
Preparing for possible setbacks
At a time when polls show most Democrats don't believe Biden should run for re-election, with the biggest national audience he's likely to draw out of the summer convention, Biden and his aides are well aware of the importance of this Thursday. Speech. They know every word, every stutter, every slur will be scrutinized like any policy proposal, and the writing stretches late into the night in the West.
Biden's top advisers insist that his favorite moment from last year's speech — when he took on Republicans on cuts to Social Security and Medicare, punctuating the moment with “I enjoy change” — was unplanned.
This time, political pressure led participants to analyze their options so as not to leave Biden's fate in the hands of another improvisation, and the hope that he would receive another spontaneous and fluid response.
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz isn't sure the State of the Union is the right forum for Biden to come out in full force, “but after that, I think he needs to take the gloves off.”
Biden's advisers love to shame and humiliate journalists they deem unfair or too coercive. Schatz said the president and his advisers should go beyond that to cover up negative stories about Trump by highlighting Biden.
“We don't have time to rewrite the rules of the road in the press. We have to work with what we have,” Schatz said. “He needs to make that case personally, and not assume that people will get it naturally, through proxies or by osmosis.”
Biden's advisers agree that the more he fights, the stronger he will appear
For months, Biden campaign advisers have been talking about the need to step up and the obvious benefit they see in him doing so. People look strong when they pick fights, a senior Biden campaign official summed up the thinking to CNN in January, and they know the president needs to be strong.
They've found this easier said than done, and not just because Biden is trying to preserve his chances of passing some pending bills in Congress, including avoiding a shutdown and sending more aid to Israel and Ukraine.
“The real Joe Biden is, 'We're red states, we're blue states, but we're the United States of America,'” said Gov. John Carney, who has known Biden for decades. shared Delaware roots. “But he's also a fighter.”
President Joe Biden speaks with Delaware Governor John Carney after a dinner for governors and their spouses on February 11 in Washington. (Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
And though Biden enjoys annoying Trump Knowing he would get a response, he said last week after Republican Kentucky announced that Sen. Like his glowing statement about Mitch McConnell, his preference is to project a quiet demeanor in order to try to inject more civility into politics. He resigned as Minority Leader. Biden angered many prominent Democrats by issuing any statement praising McConnell and Roe v. Wade by ensuring that the seats of Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court went to conservatives.
“A statement like that, you have to wonder if Joe Biden understands it,” complained an outraged top Democratic activist on CNN.
Most of the harshest statements from the Biden campaign so far have been attributed to staff members or written by others on their behalf. Aides say it's a fundamental consideration to realistically manage the president's time: Busy running the country, he can't keep running to microphones to criticize Trump.
“President Biden is under attack, showing which side he's on, criticizing Republican officials for favoring the special interests of the rich over middle-class families, favoring radical attacks on basic reproductive health over Americans' freedoms and picking on fentanyl smugglers at the border. By opposing the toughest bipartisan border security legislation in modern history patrol,” White House press secretary Andrew Bates said.
Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt followed up with a statement making similar comments, adding that “the president and vice president will continue to hold Donald Trump accountable and let voters know directly how much is at stake in this election.”
President Joe Biden speaks during his visit to the US-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas on February 29. (Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Deftly avoiding certain fights
But on many issues that have enormous potential to sway voters, Biden has little say.
Trump's kaleidoscope of impeachments and court cases is one of the former president's biggest political liabilities and a popular attack on Nikki Haley. But Biden remains committed to clarifying the judiciary and the independence of the courts.
He has more to say about the situation in Gaza that could interest Netanyahu and American voters, but White House advisers are wary of how carefully the Israeli government and Arab leaders are reading the president's every word.
Biden's habit of airing these and other thoughts at fund-raising events isn't just to make himself comfortable in front of friendly crowds. Sometimes it's a tactical decision to try to get your ideas into the media's bloodstream while maintaining a modicum of credible distance.
That doesn't mean it's the best strategy for winning over moderates and Republicans, whom Trump has rejected. Eight months to go is already hard.
For now, the campaign is leaning toward a video format for its new TikTok and other social media accounts: They'll give Biden an iPad and respond to a video of Trump's latest comment that the campaign wants to highlight. One campaign consultant called it “the real-life digital equivalent of 'Let Biden be Biden.'” While watching the videos, Biden's often exasperated reactions are mostly fresh, but the comments he makes to summarize them are scripted and rehearsed.
Aides feel they have plenty of time to raise outrage for all those who complain that Biden can look like a sleeping old man on the job.
But it has a limit.
“You can't be 10 out of 11 in terms of alarm for eight months in a row, so I understand the need to peak at the right time and make those arguments when the maximum number of voters are paying attention. Attention,” Schatz said. “But a lot of times politicians are advised not to be abrupt because it's harmful, because it can have a negative effect. In this case, people know what they think of Joe Biden as a man. So he has a lot of clue. It has to be as tough as possible here.”
