‘Nobody is above the law,’ Biden hopes Trump’s verdict speaks for itself.
Joe Biden disappointed everyone who thought he would be gloating about Donald Trump, his opponent in the election, becoming a convicted criminal.
Rather, the campaign of the Democrats warned sternly that voting was the only way to stop Trump from winning the White House again.
Biden will now have to work out a political advantage from Trump’s unprecedented criminal conviction while avoiding feeding the notion among Trump followers that the case was politically motivated.
Director of Biden campaign communications Michael Tyler remarked, “We saw in New York today that no one is above the law.”
The verdict rendered today, however, does not alter the basic reality that the American people must deal with. Donald Trump can still only be prevented from occupying the White House by voting.
With the former resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue found guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money case, the White House was even less eager to get its hands filthy.
White House Counsel’s Office spokesman Ian Sams issued a brief remark, “We respect the rule of law and have no additional comment.”
Thursday saw no remarks from Biden personally.
The president was at his Delaware residence on a day that was already very important to him—nine years to the day after his 46-year-old son Beau passed away from brain cancer in 2015.
After weeks of polls that has Biden and Trump neck and neck nationally—Trump leads the Democrat narrowly in most of the important swing states—his historic conviction, which would have been a devastating blow in any other election year, is surely a bright light for Biden.
Previous jokes on Trump’s legal situation by Biden included making fun of him for nodding off during the trial and claiming he’s been too “busy” to be out on the campaign trail.
He has, meanwhile, mainly avoided controversy on the matter, and it remains to be seen if he will take a more forceful tack or maintain a presidential distance.
Biden will be hoping that the ruling will persuade even a small percentage of independents or undecided voters, who could be rather important in one of the tightest White House contests in living memory.
“It benefits Biden for this reason: I’m Joe Biden, and I’m not a convicted felon,” Democratic strategist Rachel Bitecofer said.
Responding to the ruling, Biden has already started a social media fundraising campaign.
Trump’s confidence “speaks for itself,” University of Maryland political science professor David Karol told AFP.
“I don’t think Biden has to discuss this kind of thing in order to draw voters’ attention. That is historic and a huge deal.
Furthermore, Biden would want to “avoid the impression that he is directing the prosecution of his opponent,” he said.
But Karol said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Biden found it tough to keep it out of his first election debate with Trump, which is scheduled for June 27, two weeks before the Republican is sentenced.
Former senior Obama advisor David Axelrod, meantime, cautioned Biden against being “tempted to flood the zone about the conviction.”
“As Trump mopes over his personal problems, Biden would be better off focusing even more on the everyday worries of people.” On X, Axelrod stated, “The contrast would be powerful.”
Considering his own familial circumstances, Biden might similarly be hesitant to speak out.
“He may want to avoid talking about court cases at all,” said Brown University political science professor Wendy Schiller, referring to his surviving son Hunter’s upcoming weapons charge trial next week.