Biden Goes from Bunker to Blitz

Playbook: “For years, Joe Biden’s team has responded to a storm of bad news with a tried and true approach: hunker down, ignore the chattering class and weather the storm.”

“It’s worked many times — during the pre-South Carolina Democratic primaries in 2020; during the general election; during negotiations over the infrastructure bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, the gun safety bill; during the 2022 midterms. Talk to them enough, and you’ll hear some version of their unofficial mantra: ‘Never bet against Joe Biden.'”

“But amid the wreckage of his disastrous debate performance — and the much bigger questions it raises about his health, his White House’s candor and his ability to effectively make the case against Donald Trump — that approach just isn’t cutting it this time…”

“So, something of a pivot is underway from Biden world. But the White House strategy seems stuck in a tug of war between their old weather-the-storm impulse and the transparency that this moment demands.”