Instead of defending himself against a tsunami of attack ads about his own diminished intellectual ability, Biden can bombard the airwaves with a series of arguments that answer Trump’s lies and remind voters that they chose him in 2020 because they knew that to stay great, America needed to be led by a unifier, not an avenger.
An ad might begin with the most outrageous lie Trump uttered during last Thursday’s debate – about how disastrous the U.S. economy has been since Biden took office. To which Biden might respond:
Donald, I read that you have to pay $88.3 million in damages for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. I did a quick calculation and I figured if you had invested $88.3 million in an S&P index fund on Inauguration Day, it would be up about 40% by now. That’s about $35 million, Donald. That’s a disaster! Think of the legal fees you’ll have to pay!
Another ad might quote Trump as saying he could work with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a way that Biden never could. To which Biden might respond:
Donald, if Putin could vote in an election, you know why he would vote for you? It’s because he knows one thing about you, and that is that you would never be able to organize the kind of alliance that I put together to get him out of Ukraine and contain China. You would throw away those alliances because you only see transactional relationships. Enduring alliances, Donald. Like a lasting marriage, It’s not a transactional relationship. It’s a relationship cemented by shared values. You treat our allies like a shoe store in the lobby of Trump Tower that doesn’t pay its rent. Not only do you lie about how much our allies donate to Ukraine, you have no idea how much they are amplifying American power and values.
Such a rebuttal to Trump would be the best parting gift Biden could give to his party and all Americans.
Gautam Mukunda, presidential scholar and author of Choosing a President, recently pointed out to me: “In 1783, when George Washington announced he was stepping down from the presidency, King George III, whose empire he had destroyed, said he would be ‘the greatest man in the world’ if he did so. Fourteen years later, Washington did it again, resigning from the presidency when he could have easily become president for life. The Founding Father proved his greatness by showing that the best thing a president can do for his country is to resign from office. Today, facing the worst threat to democracy since the Civil War, Joe Biden can cement his own legacy by following Washington’s example.”
Biden was not only a good man, but also a truly impactful president: He deserves to be remembered as the leader who saved the country from Trump in 2020, led us out of the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic, passed crucial legislation to rebuild America’s infrastructure, renewed the dignity of work, fostered the transition to a green economy, and, finally, knew how and when to say goodbye.
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