OPINION:
Former President Donald Trump reaches out to voters. President Biden tries to terrify them.
Franklin Roosevelt said we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear is all Mr. Biden has.
Mr. Biden stops short of referring to Mr. Trump as Hitler and his supporters — half the country — as brownshirts. One Democratic consultant went the distance, charging, “The Republican Party is basically a domestic terrorist cell at this point, and they should be treated as such.” Guantanamo?
Like those in 1932 and 1980, this will be a pivotal election. Voters will decide not just on policies and personalities but also on whether they want to be guided by hope or fear.
President Biden is like the man with wild hair in a trench coat, carrying a sign that reads, “Repent, the end of the world is coming.” In the president’s case, it’s “Vote Democratic — or democracy will end.”
Everything is framed in apocalyptic terms. At his 2022 Independence Hall address, the president’s remarks were titled “The Continued Battle for the Soul of Amerca.” When the president puts on his pants in the morning, he probably sees it as part of the continued battle for the soul of America.
In Philadelphia, Mr. Biden declared: “There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None. Ever.” He was alluding to Jan. 6, which Democrats maintain was the greatest upheaval since the Civil War.
He says there is no place for political violence — except for the violence and intimidation from the left. The president has never denounced threats against Supreme Court justices — including the attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh — or attacks on pro-life centers and churches that oppose abortion.
It wasn’t until September 2020 that he finally disavowed the months of arson, assault and murder that followed the killing of George Floyd and then only because polls showed voters were troubled by his silence.
He won’t condemn the antisemitism that has rocked college campuses unless it’s watered down with an indictment of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice, as though Zionist mobs were taking over college buildings and keeping Arab students from attending classes.
The Independence Hall speech is endlessly repeated in one form or another. At this year’s NAACP dinner in Detroit, the president said his opponent was “unhinged” and bent on “revenge.” He forgets to tell them that Republicans want to “put y’all back in chains.”
While Mr. Biden bellows, Mr. Trump calms and reassures.
Mr. Trump delivered pizzas to a New York City firehouse, hugged a Black supporter at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta while the staff watched and smiled, and addressed an estimated 10,000 supporters at a rally in the South Bronx.
Mr. Trump has the common touch the president lacks. He called the family of the missionary couple killed in Haiti. When the bodies came back from the Kabul airport, the president waited on the runway — repeatedly checking his watch.
Like President Ronald Reagan, Mr. Trump is one of those rare creatures, a conservative populist. He likes people, and they know it. As a Black schoolteacher said at the South Bronx rally, “he speaks to you,” not at you.
Mr. Trump is always upbeat. We can solve our problems, he tells us. We can beat inflation, control the border, produce abundant energy, cut taxes and prevent World War III.
Opinion polls show who’s ahead in the race between hope and fear.
Mr. Trump is making historic inroads among traditional Democratic constituencies — those under 30, minorities and independents.
In the latest New York Times poll, Mr. Trump is tied with Mr. Biden among voters under 30 in six battleground states. In 2020, Mr. Biden carried them by 24 points.
The fearmongering isn’t working.
First, it was Mr. Trump who would abolish abortion everywhere. (Not true. He says state voters should decide.) Then, the ex-president was a threat to democracy. So why did he leave office peacefully after the last election despite significant evidence of voter fraud?
The latest was Hollywood gargoyle Robert De Niro, in full “Dirty Grandpa” mode, at a New York presser, raving that Mr. Trump “wants to destroy the world.” Again with the end of the world.
Mr. Biden’s backers are moved by animosity, not burning passion for their guy. In the latest Rasmussen poll, a majority of Democrats said they want the president replaced at the head of their ticket.
Mr. Trump’s troops are loyal. They stand in line for hours to hear him speak. The president inspires only a collective yawn.
Democrats hope that fear will win in November. Afraid not.
• Don Feder is a columnist with The Washington Times.
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