A Democratic polling group is urging President Joe Biden to “tout his accomplishments,” breaking with advisers who say he should shift his focus away from his own record and instead attack former President Donald Trump.
Upon releasing a new poll on voter perceptions of inflation Wednesday, Blueprint laid out a number of takeaways from the data it collected. The pollsters suggest that based on their poll, Biden should “hammer home” his efforts to reduce prices.
“When married to messaging that touts Biden as a champion of the middle class against Trump as a patsy for the wealthy and big companies,” Blueprint’s lead pollster Evan Roth Smith said, “there is a clear policy and communications path for Biden to be even bolder on inflation, while winning over skeptical votes.”
The poll found that inflation is the No. 1 issue voters are interested in hearing Biden speak about, with 50% of respondents signaling it as their top concern. On the subject of inflation, 79% of voters said that low prices of goods and services define a good economy for them.
Blueprint, whose mission is “to take a sober, detailed look at what Democrats need to do to win in 2024,” suggested that Biden would be well-served to center his messaging around his efforts and accomplishments on the economy and “take credit” for policies voters see as reducing inflation.
However, according to a Tuesday report, top Democrats are telling Biden to rein in his praise of his own record and instead go after Trump on the economy.
“He wants the credit, but it’s not working,” one Democrat said of Biden. “He needs to stop.”
Both Blueprint and the Democratic advisers agree that Biden should hit Trump on his relationships with corporate America.
The Trump campaign responded to the report by asserting Biden’s policies on inflation, the border, and foreign affairs are “indefensible, and his advisors know it.”
“President Trump is proud of his record that created a booming economy, no inflation, cheap gas, a secure border, and peace around the world,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Washington Examiner. “Life was better under Trump, and Americans know it.”
The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee have recently ramped up efforts to attack Trump, in line with the strategy outlined by the Democratic advisers.
On Tuesday, Biden’s campaign put out an advertisement attacking Trump on the economy just one day after releasing another attacking him on abortion. On Sunday, Biden’s team put out a memo previewing the debate that targeted Trump on the issues it says “matter most to the American people.”
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Biden’s campaign also characterized Trump as having “snapped” after losing the 2020 election in a May 24 memo in which they claimed he “echoes the words of dictators and invokes the language of Nazi Germany.” The memo blasted Trump for stating there would be a “bloodbath” in the auto industry if Biden is reelected, alleging this was an example of “embracing political violence.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Blueprint and the Biden campaign for comment.