President Biden has ordered the White House to remain silent about the criminal cases against Trump. Politically, Biden gives Trump enough rope to hang himself.
President Joe Biden and his top aides have taken a vow of silence over the federal charges against his predecessor, Donald Trump — and have expressly ordered the national Democratic Party and his reelection campaign to do the same.
That directive was issued in recent days after Trump was hit with federal charges over his handling of classified documents after he left the White House, according to three people familiar with the instructions.
Biden knows how to handle Trump
All Trump wants most is to discredit the DOJ case by viewing it as a political attack against him. Trump has only one little playbook that he has been using since 2015. Trump needs to drag Biden into his legal troubles to make himself and his Democratic opponent appear equal. He successfully used this tactic against Hillary Clinton in 2016, tried it in 2020 and is trying again in 2024.
Trump’s entire style is based on false equivalence and tabloid-style fighting, and when Biden denies him the fight, the former president is denied the oxygen his fake attacks need to gain traction.
It’s an intelligent strategy that frustrates and enrages Trump.
Biden knows Trump will self-destruct
Biden has understood from day one that if Trump has all the media coverage, he will destroy himself. Trump is too unstable and undisciplined not to burn. Every time Trump speaks up, he loses more votes outside the Republican Party. Trump is drowning, politically speaking, and Biden knows better than to save him.
For decades, Joe Biden had a reputation for speaking indiscipline, but the president has beaten Trump and will beat him again by showing discipline and giving Trump enough rope to hang himself.