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President Biden’s campaign pitch to voters is that he is a fierce protector of individual freedoms and the 2024 election is a battle between authoritarianism and liberty.
Mr. Biden’s message that Republicans, particularly former President Donald Trump, are targeting Americans’ freedoms is the cornerstone of his reelection campaign. He talks about this topic frequently at fundraisers, and he has delivered four major speeches warning that the Make America Great Again movement would erode the nation’s democratic institutions and values.
Mr. Biden expanded that argument after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7. He said the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts threatened freedoms around the globe.
The campaign has tried to capitalize on the international crises by saying Mr. Biden has restored American leadership in fighting for freedoms at home and abroad.
Biden campaign videos and literature accuse “MAGA extremists” of trying to take away “bedrock freedoms” by cutting Social Security, limiting abortion rights, banning books and passing legislation that they say targets the transgender community and makes voting more difficult.
Republicans say Mr. Biden’s pitch is hypocritical. They argue that he won’t protect the freedoms guaranteed by the Second Amendment, has tried to implement COVID-19 mandates and has attacked religious freedoms with his stances on abortion and gender identity.
“This has been the worst administration in the past 100 years when it comes to the freedom of anything,” said James Keady, a Republican political strategist. “In the Biden administration, you are only allowed to be free if you agree with him. You name the freedom, he’s trampled on it.”
Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist, said freedom is rightly the “anchor” of Mr. Biden’s campaign because the fight to protect personal liberties informs the president’s agenda and legislative victories.
“Accomplishments don’t mean anything if basic freedoms are not protected,” he said. “When we have freedom, the implementation of [Mr. Biden’s] accomplishments becomes easier.”
While Mr. Biden is talking about freedom, voters are focused on his age and handling of the economy — and expressing concern about both.
A CNN poll released last month found that 67% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters said the party should nominate someone other than Mr. Biden in 2024. The same poll revealed that Mr. Biden’s job approval rating was 39% among all voters surveyed, with 58% saying his policies have worsened economic conditions in the U.S.
The poll found that 75% of Democrats approve of Mr. Biden’s job performance, an 11 percentage-point decline from the same poll last month. Among independents, Mr. Biden’s approval rating dipped 4 percentage points, with only 35% approving his handling of the presidency.
A recent Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey revealed that 73% of Americans are concerned about the 80-year-old president’s physical and mental competence, with 76% saying they worry about his ability to complete a second term.
Those concerns are why Mr. Biden’s “freedom message” won’t resonate with voters, Mr. Keady said.
“He’s got the worst polling numbers and he’s a drag on the ticket and by talking about freedom, he’s trying to jump-start his campaign with a middle-of-the-road message. Voters are smarter than that,” he said.
A recent spending spree on Biden ads suggests the campaign is cognizant that the freedom message hasn’t engaged the electorate. The ad buy so early in the 2024 cycle underscores the campaign’s concern about Mr. Biden’s message, given he has a lock on the nomination as the party’s incumbent president.
The campaign put down $25 million for a 16-week ad buy in swing states last month. It was a major investment for a campaign that has raised less than $23 million as of June 30, according to the most recent campaign finance report.
The ads, which target Hispanic and African American voters, launched much earlier than most presidential candidates traditionally air campaign commercials.
In 2020, Mr. Biden made history by raising $1 billion for his presidential run. This time, his fundraising has been slower and hampered by an overall decline in online contributions.
From April 25, when Mr. Biden announced his reelection bid, through June 30, Mr. Biden raised more than $72 million. In comparison, President Obama raised $85.6 million from April through June 2011, when he launched his campaign for a second term. President Trump raised roughly $105 million during the same period in 2019.
Mr. Seawright dismissed claims that the slow donation pace suggests that Democrats are not enthusiastic about the president’s reelection bid.
“Campaigns are built for ebbs and flows, and this is not the time to panic,” he said.
Still, the Biden campaign has been running a lean reelection effort, spending about $1.1 million in the second quarter.
The campaign, which is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, had spent less than $1,500 on travel, accommodations and airfare. At the conclusion of the second quarter, the campaign had only four workers.
That changed last month when the campaign added a handful of senior aides to its communications and policy operations. Among those was Ammar Moussa, a former national press secretary for the Democratic National Committee who is now serving as the campaign’s director of rapid response.
Grace Landrieu, previously the director for economic policy and labor at the National Economic Council, joined as the campaign’s policy director. Carla Frank, recently a deputy political director at the White House, is the director of the national advisory board and surrogate operations for the 2024 campaign.
The new hires join the campaign’s inner circle, a mix of longtime Biden advisers and fresh faces.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez is the campaign’s manager and senior adviser and assistant to the president. She was a deputy campaign manager for Mr. Biden’s 2020 effort and oversaw the campaign’s outreach to Hispanic voters. Ms. Chavez Rodriguez is the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, the labor leader who founded the United Farm Workers union.
Quentin Fulks, who served as campaign chief for the 2022 reelection bid of Sen. Raphael G. Warnock, Georgia Democrat, is the Biden campaign’s principal deputy campaign manager. He also oversaw Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 2018 campaign.
Kevin Munoz, a former White House spokesperson who led its messaging on the COVID-19 pandemic, is managing the press office. He previously served as a campaign spokesperson for Mr. Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
First lady Jill Biden also is playing a pivotal role in her husband’s reelection bid as a senior adviser. She is expected to be instrumental on the campaign trail as she pitches the president’s message to women and suburban voters.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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