On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks said that President Joe Biden does not have good enough approval ratings for Democrats to keep their majorities in 2022 or get re-elected in 2024, “on the basis of his own accomplishments.” And therefore, “raising the saliency of Trump is probably the smart thing to do” and “a key part of” what he can do to keep Democrats in office.
Brooks stated, “Democrats are going to try to win — keep that — their majorities in 2022. Joe Biden presumably is going to try to keep the presidency or at least have a Democrat in the presidency in 2024. His approval ratings are not high enough to do that on the basis of his own accomplishments. And, frankly, he didn’t win the presidency the first time because people loved Joe Biden. He won it because people really disliked Donald Trump. And so, raising the saliency of Trump is probably the smart thing to do. Now, there are clear limits to that, as we learned in the Virginia gubernatorial race, when the Democrats tried to tie Youngkin to Trump and it didn’t work. So, I don’t think it’s the only thing he can do to keep Democrats in office. But it’s certainly a key part of it.”
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