Biden needs a Trump substitute

[brooklynite]

Axios

Searching for a strategy to avoid a 2022 midterm disaster, advisers to President Biden have discussed elevating a unifying Republican foil not named Donald Trump.

Why it matters: Biden confidants worry that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is too unknown, that Biden won't demonize Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell because of their longstanding and collegial relationship and that elevating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could backfire.

Biden isn't on the ballot in November. But if voters see the elections as a referendum on the last two years, it could hurt Democrats across the ticket and cost their party control of Congress.

Biden advisers and Hill allies told Axios voters are more likely to side with the president if he's compared to an alternative.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. A Trumpstitute.

I like the sound of that. In reality, DeSantis is a good target.

[brooklynite]

2. The question is whether DeSantis can be framed as a "national" target.

[dflprincess]

3. "Biden won't demonize Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell because of their longstanding and

collegial relationship"

Seriously? If this is accurate someone needs to point out Moscow Mitch's behavior to Biden. It seems to me McConnell abandoned any pretense of a "collegial relationship" long ago.

[AZProgressive]

4. There is nobody then

DeSantis has less baggage than Trump so that won’t be as easy. It looks like they don’t plan to campaign against McCarthy or McConnell either plus the media doesn’t talk about those 2 as often as Trump.

That leaves a MTG or Boebert but they are not high ranking members.

I guess the best plan is to talk about the issues.

[House of Roberts]

5. Mo Brooks is running for Senate here in Alabama.

Of course, he may not win in the primary, which could spoil using him as a suitable demon.

[brooklynite]

7. Nobody knows who Mo Brooks is outside of Alabama.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Abbott or Judge Beer

Which is to say, reactionary forces stealing our freedoms

[dsc]

8. I honestly think, at least in terms of the House and Senate, Trump and the rest of the GOP is who

and what we should run against. Governor and other state races aren't the same and shouldn't be thought of as the same, as Senate and House races. There are bunches of examples of governors of the opposite party in even stalwart states. Kansas and Kentucky both have Democratic governors while Massachusetts and Maryland have Republican ones. Yet out of party Senators are much rarer. Our national legislative elections have been nationalized. We should run a national race and contrast with the national GOP which is literally whatever Trump says (that is literally what their platform was in 2020).