Risky step – US President is likely to change his strategy

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Lerato Khumalo

The media claim to have detected a change in strategy by Joe Biden. In fact, the US president has now sent a sharp letter to his critics. But this poses a risk.

On Monday morning, the US President went on the offensive: He sent a letter to the Democratic members of Congress. They met again on Monday for a parliamentary session after a long break – for the first time since the TV debate in which Joe Biden made a devastating impression.

Now the 81-year-old addressed his party colleagues directly in the letter and told them what he thought of the calls for his resignation that have been directed at him every hour since the debate. Nothing. Only that Biden said it in more words. It was the voters who chose him as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the primaries in the spring.

“They voted on it. Not the press, not the experts, not the big donors or any group of individuals, no matter how well-intentioned they were”the President said in the letter.

The latter was obviously aimed at the handful of top Democratic politicians who, under the leadership of Senator Mark Warner from the US state of Virginia, had instigated an uprising against Biden in recent days. However, it was not particularly successful. The attempted coup within the party fizzled out before it had really begun.

In the meantime, Warner has already extended his hand to the President again. “With so much at stake in the upcoming election, we need to talk about the best way to win it”Warner said in a statement on Monday. It sounded almost conciliatory.

Biden can therefore feel like the winner in the Democrats’ internal power struggle for the time being. He has survived the storm of resignations for now. “WashingtonPost” claims to have now recognized a change in strategy on the part of the US President. By opposing the major donors, the press and other experts who recently suggested that he resign, he is styling himself as a champion against the Washington establishment.

In fact, Biden emphasized in an interview with MSNBC on Monday that he is also fighting against the “Elites”. And further: “I won’t go anywhere”.

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“Average Joe”: As a president of the people – that is how Joe Biden likes to see himself. Here at the reception of the Super Bowl winner Kansas City Chiefs in May 2024. (Source: Andrew Harnik/Getty)

This strategy, if it is correct, would be something he shares with Donald Trump, who had always promised his supporters that he would “swamp” in the capital. In other words, to turn corrupt Washington politics on its head. The narrative only lasted until election day. After that, Trump himself became part of the political swamp.

However, Biden could benefit from his image as a fighter for the so-called “little people” benefit. This has already helped him score points with important voting groups in previous election campaigns. This is the narrative now: “Average Joe” (“Average Joe”) against the snobbish know-it-alls in their tailored suits who want to take him out of the race.

Joe Biden: The debate about the health of the US President will again be at the centre of the NATO summit in Washington.Enlarge the image
Joe Biden: Time for a change of strategy? (Source: Elizabeth Frantz/reuters)

“I don’t care what the millionaires think. They were wrong in 2020, they were wrong in 2022… and I’m tired of explaining to anyone what I’m doing. I’m going to run”Biden wrote in the outlaw manner in the letter on Monday. Which seems a bit strange, after all, the sender is in the White House.

Biden’s strategy is likely to be at least daring, as the “WashingtonPost” After all, the Democrat has been part of the Washington political elite for more than 50 years. Biden’s new staging as “insurgent”i.e. as a rebel in the White House, is extremely dangerous, according to the newspaper. “He can play this card exactly once. If that doesn’t work, he will never again be able to point the finger at the supposedly anti-democratic elites. Then there will only be one person he can blame: himself.”