As the 2024 presidential race heats up, President Joe Biden's campaign is turning the tables on former President Donald Trump by co-opting his signature question: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" The Biden-Harris campaign sees this as a golden opportunity to highlight Trump's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and remind voters of the chaos that ensued during the early days of the crisis.
On Friday, the Biden campaign released a statement marking the fourth anniversary of Trump's pledge to "terminate" the Affordable Care Act, which came just ten days after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. "Four years ago today, Trump was trying to throw millions of Americans off their insurance while Americans were dying by the thousands of Covid-19, even more Americans were infected, and hospitals were reaching a breaking point," said Sarafina Chitika, a senior spokesperson for the Biden-Harris campaign.
The campaign also released a digital ad on Thursday, pairing images from the early days of the pandemic with audio clips of Trump suggesting disinfectant as a treatment, downplaying concerns over the number of Covid-related deaths, and dismissing questions from reporters about his handling of the crisis. This strategy is being test-driven by Biden himself during campaign events and fundraisers in Texas.
"Just a few days ago, he asked the famous question, 'Are you better off today than you were yesterday?' Well, Donald, I'm glad you asked that question," Biden said during a campaign reception in Houston on Thursday, before pointing to Trump's handling of the pandemic and the debunked claim that he suggested injecting bleach as a treatment option.
The Biden campaign's efforts to co-opt Trump's language extend beyond the pandemic, with the campaign accusing the former president of "hiding in his basement" to highlight Biden's more active campaign schedule. The campaign has also embraced the "Brandon" moniker, a code word used by Republicans to insult Biden, by launching a "Dark Brandon" account on X and releasing several "Dark Brandon"-branded memes.
A senior Biden-Harris campaign official told NBC News that the campaign will continue to highlight "key moments from four years ago throughout the month of April," including headlines reminding voters of rising crime and toilet paper shortages during the final months of Trump's term, as well as footage showcasing the "chaos" of the pandemic in 2020.
"Americans remember March Madness, proms, weddings, and celebrations being canceled, waiting in line for toilet paper and essentials, businesses shutting down, and losing loved ones - all because Trump failed to prepare for and then couldn't lead when we needed him the most," said Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa. "The only thing to happen four years ago to make Americans' lives better was Donald Trump losing to Joe Biden."
In response to the Biden campaign's attacks, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt cited higher mortgage rates, illegal border crossings, the war in Ukraine, and other foreign conflicts as evidence that Americans were better off under Trump prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition to targeting Trump's pandemic response, Biden has also taken aim at the former president's current legal troubles. During a campaign fundraiser in Dallas, Texas, the president joked about Trump's difficulty in securing a bond to appeal a $454 million civil court judgment in New York.
"Just the other day this defeated looking man came up to me and said: 'Mr. President I need your help. I'm in crushing debt. I'm completely wiped out,'" Biden recounted, before delivering the punchline: "Donald, I'm sorry. I can't help you." The crowd of around 100 people reportedly burst into laughter at the president's quip.
Biden also took a jab at Texas Senator Ted Cruz, expressing hope that Democrats would not only secure him a second term but also win the state's Senate election. "If this happens," he joked, "Ted Cruz joins another loser, Donald Trump."
