Former President Donald Trump‘s campaign managers are painting President Biden‘s reelection hopes in bleak terms.
In a memo Thursday, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said Mr. Biden‘s failure to solve problems at home and abroad is hardening “voter perceptions about his inability to handle a crisis, demonstrate competency, and reduce inflation.”
“These are key indicators that drive almost every election — and Biden has shown no ability to correct the course,” Mr. LaCivita and Ms. Wiles said.
The campaign memo follows news that the U.S. economy grew at an annual pace of 1.6 percent, falling short of expectations, and well below the 3.4% fourth-quarter GDP growth.
The personal consumption expenditure, meanwhile, rose to a 3.4% annualized pace for the quarter, marking the biggest increase in a year.
At the same time, the nonpartisan election tracker Decision Desk HQ said Mr. Biden‘s “approval rating, at 38.6%, is the lowest it has been since we began tracking polls in February 2023.”
Mr. LaCivita and Ms. Wiles said the Biden campaign has tried to boost his numbers by dumping millions into swing state campaign ads, but the strategy is not working.
The Washington Times reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
The Trump campaign memo also came during the second week of Mr. Trump‘s hush money trial in New York and as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over whether Mr. Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Despite that, Mr. LaCivita and Ms. Wiles said polls show Mr. Trump is still in the driver’s seat.
“The American public sees the manifestation of Joe Biden‘s weakness and his failure every day when they watch as Donald Trump is unconstitutionally gagged by a Judge who is a Biden-Harris donor and stuck in a New York kangaroo court while an elected Democrat District Attorney prosecutes a political witch hunt and case of election interference,” they said.
They said the Biden administration is out of touch with the American public when it comes to Israel’s targeting of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the chaos at the US-Mexican border.
On the domestic front, gas prices are climbing, stubborn inflation is putting the financial squeeze on American and college campuses “are erupting with anti-Semitic protests,” they said.
On the foreign policy front, tensions in the Middle East are escalating, the war in Ukraine “is raging into a third year with no end in sight,” and China is feeling emboldened.
In addition, they questioned whether Mr. Biden is “too afraid” to debate Mr. Trump and suggested Vice President Kamala Harris is dragging down the Democratic ticket.
“And last but not least — Joe Biden‘s cognitive decline is getting worse,” they said. “A person does not need a medical degree to see it, and he is one fall away from political disaster.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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