The presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump ran his primary campaign while barely acknowledging the other candidates, refusing to share a debate stage with Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Nikki Haley and instead only occasionally disparaging these second-tier opponents with a nickname or two as they bickered among themselves.
Having vanquished the Republican field with his above-the-fray strategy, Trump has just one opponent remaining, President Joe Biden, whom he also disparages with nicknames — “Crooked Joe” and “Sleepy Joe” — and only sometimes addresses directly.
When Trump does mention Biden, it’s to imply that the president lacks the mental acuity or acumen required for the job. Trump often makes this assertion to a political base that needs no convincing, so he rarely bothers to add much detail, seeing evidence as extraneous in a case so obvious to him.
But as their first debate draws near, Trump has been attacking Biden more directly and making his responses more pointed. A recent social media post reveals that Trump is well aware of the primary case the Biden campaign is making against him, not least because it has been showing up in polls as an issue voters are concerned about. That issue? Protecting democracy.
Biden’s side asserts that in 2024, given Trump’s autocratic tendencies, democracy itself is on the ballot. Trump disagrees, writing that “the #1 issue in this country is not protecting democracy.”
As you know, I pay zero attention to polls. But this guy and his supporters live and die with every one. Polls are the only thing that legitimizes him. Without favorable polls, he’s just a washed up felonious loser. They are his lifeline. pic.twitter.com/3WmB0iXhmw
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 20, 2024
In the post (shown above), though Trump disagreed that “protecting democracy” was the #1 issue, he still claimed that even if it were to top concern, he is the best candidate to protect it. Trump counters claiming the #1 issue(s) are inflation and immigration, notably two issues where Biden polls poorly.