As President Biden, 81, attempts to address growing concerns about his mental acuity during his ABC primetime interview Friday night, he will have to convey to his Democratic base and centrist voters that he is fit to remain commander in chief for another four years.
Here are the three most important things President Biden should highlight in his highly anticipated interview with George Stephanopoulos, according to political strategists.
1. Clarity of your mental acuity.
Biden will undoubtedly have to “speak forcefully” and clearly to begin to allay concerns that he is unfit to continue as president. The goal of the interview, first and foremost, will be to show voters that Biden’s poor performance in the debate against former President Trump was “a moment in time” and “not a symptom of who he is,” according to Democratic strategist Mustafa Rashed.
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President Biden, left, will sit down with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos for a pre-recorded interview on Friday. (Fake Images)
“The issues won’t even be addressed,” Rashed, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based government firm Bellevue Strategies, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“This is clearly a referendum on the president and his ability to do his job.”
“Little things” will go a long way, Rashed continued, adding that Biden will have to meet “a very high standard” and speak clearly, as he faced criticism for his raspy voice during the debate.
“They can disguise it as policy questions, because that’s how you get someone to talk about issues that they’re well versed in, but the thematic quality of the answers is what we’re going to look at, it’s how they respond, not necessarily what they respond but how they respond,” Rashed said.
“The middle-leaning voters are the ones who have doubts,” Rashed continued. “It’s not the Republicans, they already know what they think about this president. He’s trying to win over independent voters and convince Democrats that he’s the best person for the job.”
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Democrats and liberal media pundits are dismissing polls showing former President Trump, on the left, gaining support among black voters. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images | Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
2. Win back the Democrats who have thrown in the towel
A handful of Democratic lawmakers have already called on President Biden to step down, while several others have expressed concern about the president’s age. Regaining their trust ahead of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) convention is crucial.
“There’s the potential for a revolt within the Democratic Party, and he needs to make sure that they say, ‘OK, we’re going to keep him on board, it’s better to have this guy as our standard-bearer than the chaos of opening everything up and having an unclear procedure about what comes next,'” presidential historian Tevi Troy told Fox News Digital.
Keeping Biden on the ticket would be better for the DNC than “having an unvetted candidate take over, or the other alternative being an unpopular Kamala Harris,” said Troy, who served in senior HHS leadership in the George W. Bush administration.
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“It’s not that easy to replace him, so you have to reassure the Democratic base. And then the third thing is to reassure the general public,” he said. “You have to get that kind of moderate voter who says, ‘I don’t like Trump, but I want someone who can take on Putin or Xi without falling asleep or collapsing.'”
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A handful of Democratic lawmakers have already called on President Biden to step down. (Screenshot of Joe Biden on MSNBC)
3. The economy
As ordinary Americans feel the impact of inflation in their wallets, President Biden must articulate his plans to boost the economy, especially to voters in key swing states.
“We do our consensus survey every quarter and consistently the number one issue, overwhelmingly, is inflation and the economy,” Nathan Benefield, a senior vice president at the Pennsylvania-based think tank Commonwealth Foundation, told Fox News Digital.
“If you look at the numbers, over the last three years, wages have not kept pace with prices, so Pennsylvania families are literally poorer than they were three years ago,” Benefield said. “That’s what’s affecting them. I think the president needs to address that issue and acknowledge that cost, and acknowledge the role of government in that and talk about solutions to inflation from that perspective, rather than shifting blame or ignoring that problem altogether.”
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Benefield suggested that people are experiencing inflation everywhere., in supermarkets, where food prices are higher, when eating out less due to rising costs, at petrol stations and, above all, in the housing sector, where interest rates and prices have increased.
“And then you really saw… [inflation] “In all areas,” he said.
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