Joe Biden labeled 'puppet' as Democrats push him to target Donald Trump’s billionaire ties in presidential debate

WASHINGTON, DC: A group of progressive Democrats and allies within the White House are privately encouraging President Joe Biden's team to utilize Thursday, June 26, debate to redefine his candidacy by targeting the billionaires and large corporations that Donald Trump has increasingly supported.

These Democrats have implored Biden's advisers to embrace a more direct populist message to address two issues: Trump's continued appeal to voters on economic matters, as indicated by polls, and the widespread lack of awareness among Americans of Biden's history of challenging major corporations.

Biden campaign criticized for not highlighting ambitious economic policies enacted during his tenure

Concerns have been raised that the campaign has not adequately highlighted the most ambitious economic policies enacted during his tenure.

It has faced challenges in delivering a consistent message and has not consistently prioritized the economy, focusing instead on issues such as democracy and abortion, despite many voters considering the cost of living their most pressing concern.

“Biden is taking a lot of that populist fight and making it real — he’s doing it through policy and on a whole variety of scores,” Faiz Shakir, an adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), has engaged in discussions with aides to President Biden on the matter, as reported by Politico.

He added, “The problem on the Biden side is we’re not getting the political squeeze out of the policymaking.”

Progressives have consistently argued that Biden should adopt a more adversarial stance towards the CEO class, contending that his most populist measures are also his most favored policies.

Democratic operatives have urged Biden to out-populist Trump during the debate, focusing on Trump's appeals to executives and wealthy donors.

They believe there is an opportunity for Biden to frame the race as a contest between the wealthy and the working class, positioning himself on the side of blue-collar voters likely to swing the election.

“Poll after poll shows that cost of living is a major concern and that most people lay the blame at the feet of corporations,” Bharat Ramamurti, the former Deputy Director of Biden's National Economic Council, stated. “So show what Biden is doing on that exact set of issues.”

Progressives argue Joe Biden implemented industry crackdowns to control corporate power

Progressives argue that Biden has greenlit crackdowns on major industries, including airlines, tech giants, drug makers, and meatpackers, to rein in corporate power and eliminate business practices.

However, Democrats argue that too few Americans know about these efforts, and the White House has shied away from promoting enforcement against big businesses, Politico stated.

Progressive economic strategists want more relatable stories about corporate power, similar to the shrinking Snickers bar Biden complained about in his State of the Union speech.

“Joe Biden came up as part of the establishment, and he was by Barack Obama’s side at the kind of height of neoliberal economic thinking,” said Sen.

Although Biden has "unquestionably had a conversion" since then, according to Chris Murphy (D-Conn), he's still learning how to talk about it. “I do think there’s a challenge that the administration has in explaining and selling this.”

Murphy mentioned prescription drug pricing as one of the significant issues that has not yet resonated fully with voters, mainly because the messaging is often mired in the complexities of policy details.

“You should spend 80% of the time telling the story of how the drug companies screwed people, and 20% of the time explaining the solution. We do the opposite,” he said.

Instead, “Spend a bunch of time explaining how these companies were screwing you and how we are, for the first time ever, in some cases, ending the screwing.”

Biden advisers argue that President utilized populist credentials to implement policies for betterment

The Biden advisers argue that the president has increasingly leaned into his populist credentials, focusing on policies that will make Americans' lives better.

They point to recent efforts to portray Trump as out of touch with the working class and Biden as focused solely on policies that will make Americans' lives better.

At the debate on Thursday, June 27, Biden is expected to cast the election as a choice between his pro-worker policies and a Trump agenda that he will portray as benefiting the wealthy.

Biden officials at the White House and campaign have seized in particular on Trump's plans to slash corporate taxes and impose widespread tariffs moves that economists have warned would drive up inflation.

They believe Biden's contrasting vision of higher taxes for the wealthy and corporations carries far more appeal with populist-minded voters.

However, advisers caution that Biden can't abandon his long-standing support for American businesses, as he takes personal pride in data showing a boom in new business formations on his watch and regularly cites stock market gains as evidence of the economy's strength.

Internet criticized Joe Biden for his lack of physical strength

As soon as the news surfaced on the internet, users started reacting to it. A user said talking of Joe Biden, "Installed WH puppet will likely nod off during the debate."

Another user added, "He didn’t understand that, he’s going to come out of the closet in front of Trump."

A third commentator wrote, "Senile Biden can't even stand on his own feet."

"No drug test No debate," a person wrote demanding drug test for Biden.

 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.