Biden mentioned Trump by name only one in his speech honoring McCain, preferring to call him “the defeated former president.” But for the Biden gambit to work politically, he probably will need to drop the fake coyness and confront Trump directly. As Trump’s rhetoric becomes even more unhinged and inflammatory—such as the bizarro accusations of treason against General Mark Milley—Biden needs to focus on his likely opponent rather than “MAGA Republicans.” As memories of the January 6 insurrection have begun to fade, Biden in his speech wisely avoided emphasizing the Trump-induced attack on the Capitol and instead focused on more recent affronts to decency and democracy.
Polls, the basis for any Biden campaign strategy, can be confusing on the subject of democracy. A mid-September Quinnipiac University poll found that almost as many voters (26 percent) said that “preserving democracy” would be the most important issue in determining their presidential vote as opted for the economy (33 percent). In contrast, only 8 percent named “immigration” as the most important issue for them.
The problem—and this goes to the core of the challenges facing America in the age of Trump—is that Democrats and Republicans now mean different things when they employ the phrase “threats to democracy.” For Republicans, the concept encompasses election fraud, open borders, and “government control over people’s lives,” according to an August analysis by the independent polling firm, SSRS. Democrats (no surprise) worry about efforts to overthrow elections, voter suppression and extremism.