President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former presidentB次元官网网址檚 thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders.
Like a comic honing his routine, the Democratic president has been testing and expanding his jokes over the past few weeks. It started with jabs about his Republican opponentB次元官网网址檚 financial problems, and now Biden regularly pokes fun at TrumpB次元官网网址檚 coiffed hair, his pampered upbringing and his attempt to make a few extra bucks by selling a special edition of the Bible.
The jokes are the latest attempt to crack the code on how to clap back at Trump, whose own insult comedy schtick has redrawn the boundaries of what is acceptable in modern politics. Few have had much luck, whether they try to take the high road or get down and dirty with Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
B次元官网网址淭his is a constant challenge,B次元官网网址� said Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama. Trump is B次元官网网址渘ot someone who plays by the rules. So itB次元官网网址檚 up to Biden to figure out how to adapt and play by new rules of engagement.B次元官网网址�
So far, Biden has been trying to thread a delicate needle to boost his chances of a second term. He uses humor to paint Trump as a buffoon unworthy of the Oval Office, but the president stops short of turning the election into a laughing matter.
Sometimes he finds that a few jokes can energize an audience even more than a major policy victory and draw precious attention away from an opponent who otherwise commands the spotlight even while stuck in a New York courtroom for his first criminal trial.
The latest example came at the White House CorrespondentsB次元官网网址� Association dinner on Saturday night. After years of Trump constantly needling Biden as B次元官网网址渟leepyB次元官网网址� and mocking his age (Biden is 81, Trump is 77), Biden lobbed the insult back after Trump appeared to doze off in court.
Biden nicknamed his rival B次元官网网址淪leepy Don,B次元官网网址� adding, B次元官网网址淚 kind of like that. I may use it again.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址漁f course the 2024 electionB次元官网网址檚 in full swing and yes, age is an issue,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 a grown man running against a 6-year-old.B次元官网网址�
But jokes at the annual black-tie affair, which also features a professional comedian (this year it was Colin Jost of NBCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪aturday Night LiveB次元官网网址�), are nothing new. The real meat of BidenB次元官网网址檚 routine comes during campaign speeches in which he devotes a few moments to taking digs at Trump in between recitations of policy proposals and legislative accomplishments.
B次元官网网址淩emember when he was trying to deal with COVID? He suggested: Inject a little bleach in your vein,B次元官网网址� Biden said Wednesday to a labor union, describing TrumpB次元官网网址檚 guidance from the White House during the pandemic. B次元官网网址淗e missed. It all went to his hair.B次元官网网址�
In Tampa, Florida, the day before, he assailed Trump for the Supreme CourtB次元官网网址檚 ruling that overturned abortion protections B次元官网网址� with three justices nominated by Trump voting in the majority of Dobbs v. Jackson WomenB次元官网网址檚 Health Organization B次元官网网址� and then pivoted to the former presidentB次元官网网址檚 hawking of a $60 B次元官网网址淕od Bless the USAB次元官网网址� Bible.
B次元官网网址淗e described the Dobbs decision as a B次元官网网址榤iracle,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Biden said of Trump. B次元官网网址淢aybe itB次元官网网址檚 coming from that Bible heB次元官网网址檚 trying to sell. Whoa. I almost wanted to buy one just to see what the hell is in it.B次元官网网址�
Biden rarely references TrumpB次元官网网址檚 court cases, but jokes about financial problems that began soon after the former president was ordered to pay $454 million in a civil case in New York.
B次元官网网址淛ust the other day,B次元官网网址� Biden said at a fundraiser in Dallas last month, B次元官网网址渁 defeated-looking guy came up to me and said, B次元官网网址楳r. President, I need your help. IB次元官网网址檓 being crushed with debt. IB次元官网网址檓 completely wiped out.B次元官网网址� I had to say, B次元官网网址楧onald, I canB次元官网网址檛 help you.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Even when Biden tries his hand at humor, he rarely strays far from talking about policies. He likes to note that he signed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law B次元官网网址� after his opponent failed to do so despite repeatedly holding White House events to drum up support for an idea that never materialized.
B次元官网网址淗e promised B次元官网网址業nfrastructure WeekB次元官网网址� every week for four years and never built a damn thing,B次元官网网址� Biden said this month to a group of laughing union members.
The dilemma is that Trump, who tells voters the whole American political system is hopelessly corrupt, can get away with name-calling that would backfire on other candidates. During his rallies, Trump imitates Biden as a feeble old man who cannot find the stairs after giving a brief speech, and he calls the president B次元官网网址渃rookedB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渁 demented tyrant.B次元官网网址�
The RepublicanB次元官网网址檚 campaign said the insults will only intensify as Biden tries to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said Biden is B次元官网网址渟huffling his feet like a short-circuited Roomba,B次元官网网址� referring to the robot vacuum, while failing to address the B次元官网网址渙ut-of-control borderB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渞unaway inflation.B次元官网网址�
Rick Tyler, who worked on the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2016, said voters have a double standard because expectations are different for Trump, who first became famous as a real estate developer and the star of the reality TV show B次元官网网址淭he Apprentice.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淐elebrities donB次元官网网址檛 really have standards, and Trump is in that lane,B次元官网网址� Tyler said. For a politician going up against Trump, B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 like trying to play a sport with the wrong equipment.B次元官网网址�
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., found that out the hard way in the Republican primary in 2016. After Rubio joked about Trump having B次元官网网址渟mall handsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� suggesting that another part of him was small, too B次元官网网址� Trump swung back by saying, B次元官网网址淚 guarantee you thereB次元官网网址檚 no problem.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淣obody has ever beaten Trump by getting in the ring with him,B次元官网网址� said Alex Conant, communications director for RubioB次元官网网址檚 campaign.
Karen Finney, who advised Democrat Hillary Clinton in her 2016 White House run, said Trump can bait opponents into B次元官网网址渃ommunicating on his terms, not your terms.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the kind of thing where you have to have a balance,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淵ou could spend all day just responding.B次元官网网址�
But if TrumpB次元官网网址檚 humor is blunt, Biden sometimes tries to get the most mileage by staying subtle. During a Pittsburgh stop earlier this month, Biden spoke elliptically about TrumpB次元官网网址檚 trial, betting his audience was already in on the joke.
Trump, he said, is B次元官网网址渁 little busy right now.B次元官网网址�
Chris Megerian And Josh Boak, The Associated Press
