President Joe Biden’s campaign has declared the GOP primary effectively over and is now pivoting to target former President Donald Trump.
Michael Tyler, Biden’s campaign communication director, stated, “We’re just looking at the reality of the data in front of us, right? We’ve been prepared for this since the launch of this re-election in April of last year.”
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Biden’s campaign adjusts focus for general election as Trump support grows
“Now, coming off of Iowa and New Hampshire, you have Donald Trump, who’s fully consolidated the extreme MAGA base of the party and is marching towards the nomination.”
The Biden campaign is shifting gears into general election mode, focusing more on battleground states.
“The campaign has already begun staffing up in battleground states across the country … You can, of course, expect more to come in that regard because it’s all hands on deck now. We’re full steam ahead heading into the general election,” said Mr. Tyler.
Trump’s strong New Hampshire ein signals GOP nomination lock
President Trump’s win in the New Hampshire GOP primary has been seen as a significant step towards securing the Republican nomination.
With 97 percent of the vote counted, Trump secured 54.3 percent, leading over Nikki Haley’s 43.3 percent.
Following the New Hampshire results, Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said, “Tonight’s results confirm Donald Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination, and the election-denying, anti-freedom MAGA movement has completed its takeover of the Republican Party.”
Biden targets Trump as ‘extremist’ and focuses on winning independents
President Biden has been actively campaigning, framing President Trump and his supporters as “extremists” and “anti-democratic.”
Biden emphasized, “Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy to put himself in power.”
The Biden campaign is also focusing on independent voters.
Quentin Fulks, deputy campaign manager, noted, “President Biden is doing better among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents than Trump is doing comparative with Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.”
Trump faces hurdles with independents amidst diverse MAGA support
Data from AP VoteCast suggests that winning independent votes might be challenging for President Trump.
Around 21 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of independents in New Hampshire expressed a lack of support for Trump.
Despite the Democratic Party’s efforts to counter the MAGA movement, Dean Phillips, a 2024 Democrat challenger, acknowledged its diversity.
Insights, warnings on loyal and diverse base of Trump’s supporters
“I went to a Donald Trump rally a couple nights ago. … I saw the line of people waiting in the cold for hours … Met probably 50 Trump people waiting in line, every single one of them thoughtful, hospitable, friendly.”
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, usually a Democrat supporter, warned against underestimating Trump’s supporters.
“He’s kind of right about NATO, kind of right about immigration. He grew the economy quite well. … He wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues. And that’s why they’re voting for him,” Dimon said.
He also cautioned, “I think this negative talk about MAGA is going to hurt Biden’s election campaign.”
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Victoria Mangelli graduated Summa Cum Laude with her BA in journalism from Siena College. She has worked for the Megyn Kelly Show, The Borgen Project, Saratoga Living, as well as several other publications. She enjoys traveling in her free time while freelancing for national publications.