The split screen of the two presidential frontrunners for 2024 was jarring the past week: President Biden at the White House and in Canada, trying to project calm leadership — and former President Trump, bitterly railing against his enemies as he faces a possible indictment in New York.
Why it matters: The scenes previewed what a Biden-Trump rematch could look like, as Biden seeks to crawl out from low poll numbers by showing stability and selling his legislative wins, while Trump — facing multiple criminal probes — uncorks chaos and taps into the anger of his MAGA base.
Driving the news: “They’re coming after you.” Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, warning of the “weaponization of law enforcement.”
- In the run-up to the rally, Trump had predicted he would be arrested in the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into alleged hush money payments Trump made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who says she and Trump had an affair.
- Trump also made comments that were widely interpreted as encouraging violence, warning of “potential death and destruction” if he were charged, and calling Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg an “animal.”
The other side: Biden advisers are mapping out a Rose Garden re-election strategy that will rely on sunny White House ceremonies, surgical sorties to swing states, and a busy international travel schedule.
- Team Biden’s goal is to project a sense of normalcy and highlight his legislative accomplishments and economic record.
- Biden’s advisers are convinced the president can overcome his low approval rating — which slipped to 38% in an Associated Press survey last week — by outlining his infrastructure plan Congress passed last year, project-by-project and city-by-city.
- He’ll head to North Carolina on Tuesday to promote the semiconductor law he signed last year, kicking off a 20-state “Investing in America” tour for him and his Cabinet.
Zoom in: Meanwhile, Trump is returning to a familiar playbook — raging…
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