With the midterm elections a little over a week away and with the polls indicating that the Democrats are struggling, one would expect the leader of their party, President Joe Biden, to be vigorously campaigning. But, he’s not.
Instead, Fox News reports that Biden has decided to head back to his home in Delaware for the weekend.
“Unwelcome”
Fox spoke with several Republican strategists who suggested that the Democrats might be purposefully keeping Biden away from the campaign trail fearing that he might do more harm than good.
Matt Gorman, vice president of Targeted Victory, for example, told Fox: “I think it’s exactly where Democrats want him to be. They don’t want him within 100 miles of any competitive race.”
Kellyanne Conway, the former counselor to President Donald Trump, similarly told the outlet, “this is not ‘Biden Hidden’ – this is Biden being unpopular and unwelcome on the campaign trail.”
“I’m feeling good”
Biden tried to head off this sort of criticism when he spoke to reporters on Saturday.
When asked about the midterm elections, Biden said that he is “feeling good,” and he emphasized the midterm campaigning that he has already done.
“I mean, I’ve been in I guess now 36 constituencies,” Biden said. “Either to campaign for a specific candidate or going with a candidate who is doing something like at the bridge out at Pittsburgh.”
Biden added that he will be “engaged” with midterm campaigning throughout the next week, the final week before the week of the midterm elections, which will take place on Nov. 8.
Coincidence or not?
While Biden sits at home this weekend, other top Democrats continue to do what one would expect Democratic leaders to be doing at this time of year, namely, campaigning. Some of the top Democrats who are campaigning include former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Even Biden’s own wife, First Lady Jill Biden, is campaigning this weekend in New Hampshire. Biden appears to be the only top Democrat who has decided to take a break at this crucial time of year.
You can judge for yourself whether this is a coincidence or not. But, considering the sort of negative coverage that commonly results from Biden’s campaigning, the more plausible explanation would appear to be that the Democrats are simply keeping Biden at home.