Standard-Bearers Have Two Different Standards: Biden and Trump Are Not Treated the Same
But the news isn’t all good for Biden, as you might have predicted.
On immigration, still a top issue among many voters, Biden’s policies have been a clear failure, and despite Republicans’ craven attempts to keep the problem alive so Trump can run on it, the issue still plagues Democrats.
But the biggest problem for Biden is that the bar is set differently for him than it is for Trump.
Trump benefits from having a voter base with an exceedingly low bar. Trump can be a literal loser, who lost the White House, the House and the Senate for Republicans in four short years. He can be a convicted criminal — many of his voters say they’d still support him. He can be a rapist, as a New York judge said he was last year.
Trump can equivocate, backtrack and contradict himself on policy, as he has on myriad issues from abortion to entitlements. Trump can make vile and impolitic statements regularly — using Hitler-ian language to describe migrants, for example, or mocking Biden for a childhood stutter. He can be a liar, a jerk, and an ignoramus. He’s conditioned his base over the past nine years to love it all.
Biden, on the other hand, is being held to a much higher standard — by his own voters.
While his most stalwart defenders insist they’re fine with his age and fitness, 75% of voters — and half of Democrats — are very concerned about his health.
On Israel, Biden’s facing pressure from progressive voters and lawmakers inside the tent to more forcefully support the Palestinian people and be tougher on Israel.
Biden is losing key constituencies that Democrats have long captured, including Blacks, Hispanics, and young voters. Some of those votes are going to Trump
When Biden makes rhetorical or policy gaffes — for instance, calling an undocumented immigrant accused of murdering a Georgia college student an “illegal,” his base lets him know in no uncertain terms that he messed up. And often, he apologizes.
In short, his own voters are telling him to do better, be better, whereas Trump’s voters love him even when he’s the absolute worst.
The dueling bars mean Trump will have to fight to win new voters, while Biden will have to fight just to keep his own.
Meanwhile, many of us are looking for the bar — so we can drown our sorrows over this crummy choice.
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(S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.)
©2024 S.E. Cupp. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
