We are less than a year away from Election Day 2024. For those who want to defeat likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and see the Democrats win big next year, it will take two things. First, President Joe Biden has to step up his game. As of now, he has not laid out a vision for a second term, and his failure to do so combined with the way he has stumbled on issues including his handling of Gaza is dampening enthusiasm among his supporters. And second, when he does that, it’s important that Democrats come out in huge numbers and work harder than they’ve ever worked before.
Biden’s campaign website, as of Friday morning, did not offer any second-term policy initiatives, and his speeches offer few details of a broad vision for a second term.
Biden’s campaign website, as of Friday morning, did not offer any second-term policy initiatives, and his speeches offer few details of a broad vision for a second term. A Biden campaign official recently told NBC News that because we are “still 11 months away from an election most Americans are not focused on,” the campaign is waiting to roll out second-term policy ideas.
That’s wrong. Biden needs to lay out his vision now and repeat it, repeat it and repeat it so that it breaks through the crowded media landscape where Trump, his likely opponent in November, dominates.
This lack of a second-term agenda helps explain in part why Biden has an enthusiasm problem. A November Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 50% of Biden supporters described their vote as being “against Donald Trump and his policies.” In contrast, only 38% said they would be voting “to support Joe Biden and his policies.”
The frightening possibility that Trump may get back in the White House isn’t enough. We need Biden to articulate a vision for a second term based on policy that inspires people to not only want to vote for him — but also to knock on doors, make phone calls, convince friends to vote, etc. It makes no sense that Biden has not done that.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., put it well when he recently told NBC News it’s “not enough” for Biden to talk up his achievements from his first two years in office when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress, such as the infrastructure legislation that Biden championed. Rather, as Frost correctly explained, “we also have to talk about what are the plans for 2025, 2026 and beyond. And how does that fit into this future we’re fighting for?”
Biden is sliding in support among key parts of the Democratic coalition. For example, a recent NBC News poll found that Biden’s approval rating with people under 35 dropping to an anemic 31%. Among all Democrats, a recent Monmouth poll found Biden’s approval at 74%, down from 80 % in a September Monmouth poll.
There are other factors dampening enthusiasm for Biden among his base. Some cite his approach in the Gaza war, where he has backed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and rejected the overwhelming sentiment of Democratic voters to pursue a cease-fire. Many Democrats who have called my SiriusXM show say they want the president to “fight harder” on issues from reproductive freedom to the threat Trump and his MAGA followers pose to our nation.
That’s why it’s even more imperative that Biden articulate a bold vision for his second term that excites Democratic voters on issues that include reproductive freedom, the economy and policies for the Middle East.
For fellow Democrats angry at the likelihood that Trump will be on the ballot in November, I feel your pain. It’s both enraging and baffling that Trump, who essentially attempted a coup and is facing criminal charges in federal court and in Fulton County, Georgia, will be on any state’s ballot. But this is where we find ourselves.
For fellow Democrats angry at the likelihood that Trump will be on the ballot in November, I feel your pain.
The Colorado Supreme Court found last week that Trump “engaged in an insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, and because of that, shouldn’t appear on that state’s ballot. While there’s still a chance the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the Colorado Supreme Court decision that “Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Democrats shouldn’t become emotionally invested in that potential outcome.
Nor should any Democrat count on Trump disappearing from the political scene if special counsel Jack Smith convinces a jury to convict him of crimes in either the Jan. 6 case or the classified documents case that his office is prosecuting. Even if Trump were convicted in those cases, there’d be nothing barring him from being the GOP nominee. Biden would still need to defeat him next November.
But if somehow Trump were not the Republicans’ nominee, Biden would still need to fight. I mean, have you seen the other GOP presidential candidates? They’re as right wing as they come. There’s former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who, despite her long history of opposing reproductive freedom and supporting restrictions on freedom of speech, her extreme anti-LGBTQ agenda and her support for the denial of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, is masquerading as a moderate.
And there’s Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who supports a national abortion ban, signed into law cruel anti-LGBTQ measures, restricted academic freedom, openly supports the indefinite occupation of the Palestinian people and has vowed to pardon the Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
If somehow Trump were not the Republicans’ nominee, Biden would still need to fight.
Trump or not, a Republican presidential candidate who wins in 2024 would usher in a right-wing, theocratic regime that limits freedoms based on their political and religious views.
The Democratic base absolutely must prepare to come out big regardless of who the GOP nominates in 2024 given the threat they all pose to our values. But Biden, in particular, needs to step it up and step it up now.
To engender the enthusiasm needed to win, his message can’t just be, “Look at how awful my GOP opponent is.” It has to be, “Here is how my second term will help you and your family.” He must address the issues that get his voters excited. And he must start making that case now and make it every day until Nov. 5.
Dean Obeidallah
Dean Obeidallah, a lawyer, hosts “The Dean Obeidallah Show” on SiriusXM radio’s Progress channel. He has written for The Daily Beast, CNN.com and other publications and is a co-creator of the annual New York Arab-American Comedy Festival.
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