Biden is sleepwalking into another 2016

The presumptive Democratic nominee denounces Trump as a national security threat. He is “temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility,” and he “has threatened to abandon our allies in Nato.” With this wildly-coiffed albatross around the neck of the Republican Party, a Democratic victory in November is assured.

Or at least that’s how Democrats felt in the summer of 2016, when Hillary Clinton delivered that anti-Trump speech (one of many that campaign season). While the polls favoured Clinton, her anti-Trump message was not enough to win on Election Day. Clinton led with a message meant to appeal to the new base of the Democratic Party: affluent, highly-degreed voters. She dismissed pocketbook issues and tossed many Trump voters into a “basket of deplorables.” Rather than moderating on cultural politics, she instead ran to the Left.

Despite some notable differences with Clinton’s 2016 campaign, Biden’s 2024 bid may risk falling into a similar trap. With forays into industrial policy and tariffs on select products from the People’s Republic of China, Biden has attempted to address some blue-collar economic concerns. Unlike Clinton, he has not ignored former “blue wall” states in the Midwest but instead directed campaign resources there.

On cultural issues, his administration has been far less centrist than the “Joe from Scranton” branding would suggest. He has constantly allowed the progressive vanguard to set policy on identity, abortion, and education. Immigration is perhaps that most visible example of Biden abandoning moderation to appease the activist class