Support independent journalism with our limited-time offer
Dear Friend,
Half of the world’s population is now sheltering at home as America’s infection and death numbers soar. Jobless rates are rising, and stocks are falling. We are being bombarded with grim statistics every day.
TNR’s Osita Nwanevu points out another one in his recent “Go for the Jugular, Joe Biden”—“Gallup’s latest figures show Trump at a 49 percent approval rating, a tie with the highest ratings he’s reached over the course of his presidency.”
“What we know about how the public views the Trump administration at the moment isn’t great for Biden and Democrats. But that’s all the more reason for Biden to lean harder into his critiques of the president, in keeping with the rhetorical approach he took earlier in the primaries,” says Nwanevu.
“Voters might be more likely to think Trump is doing a good job if they are told by the press that other voters believe this to be true. Biden can diminish that risk by being more aggressive in his characterizations of the consequences of Trump’s poor leadership and getting voters within the party he now functionally leads in line on the matter,” warns Nwanevu.
Get more of Osita Nwanevu and The New Republic with our special three-month offer. Just $5 gets you full access to NewRepublic.com, including the online magazine; daily updates from some of the best investigative reporters, opinion writers, and cultural critics in America; and three years of back issues.
As Nwanevu submits, “If Biden isn’t going to offer a bold vision for America’s future beyond this crisis, he could at least fulfill the promise his campaign made to the Democratic electorate—that this election would be a real fight, and one Biden could win.”
