Biden paid a visit to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on September 1, 2022, but not as a tourist; using the birthplace of America’s freedom as a prop, he ripped into Trump’s MAGA movement as a threat to democracy (find my commentary here).
David Frum, a political commentator and former Bush speechwriter who writes for the Atlantic, has a theory: Biden baited a trap, and Trump took the bait. His theory goes like this: Biden goaded Trump into drawing attention to himself, and away from the issues Republicans want to talk about in the runup to the fall elections.
The GOP, whose dreams of a midterm sweep are now fading, wanted to make the 2022 elections a referendum on Biden, and the last thing they need is for voters to be distracted by Trump and his grievance-laden trail of tears. As Frum wrote,
“For the 2022 election cycle, smart Republicans had a clear and simple plan: Don’t let the election be about Trump. Make it about gas prices, or crime, or the border, or race, or sex education, or anything but Trump. Maybe the pleas were always doomed to fail; show Trump a spotlight, and he’s going to step into it. But Republicans pinned their hopes on the chance that Trump might muster some self-discipline this time, some regard for the interests and wishes of his partners and allies.”
But why would they think that? After all, he never has before. Trump cares only about himself.
You don’t usually think of Biden being that clever, but I have to admit it’s plausible. After all, Biden has people helping him.
Frum argues Biden’s speech “goaded Trump into doing exactly what the GOP leadership feared he might do … once again [setting] Republicans back with little time before the midterms, and GOP hopes of taking both chambers of Congress rapidly dwindling away.” As he puts it, “Trump has overwritten his name on every Republican line of every ballot in 2022.”
He concluded, “Biden dangled the bait. Trump took it and put his whole party on the hook with him. Republican leaders are left with little choice but to pretend to like it.” (Read story here; to see what happens to gullible fish, click on image at left.)
As someone who stalks houseflies, I can tell you the loudly buzzing ones are the easiest to spot and swat. If this is indeed a Democratic strategy, maybe a housefly inspired it. And you know, that’s not a bad analogy at all.
Photo: Did a grinning Biden get the better of a howling Trump?
