Joe hits too close to home

Trump steals spotlight as Democratic frontrunner remains in self-isolation

WASHINGTON: Joe Biden is working to reassert himself in national politics three weeks after taking command of the Democratic presidential primary contest.

Like most Americans, Mr Biden is staying close to home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But the move has left him with a lower profile as much of the nation now turns their focus away from the Democratic race and on to how President Donald Trump is handling the pandemic. Mr Trump is currently enjoying a boost in support as he turns the daily White House crisis briefing into a new platform to reach American voters

Half of Americans believe the President is doing a “good job” dealing with the outbreak; while 45 per cent say he has done a “bad job”.

Mr Trump’s approval rating has risen to 46 per cent, up two points since last month despite the chaos of recent weeks, with 48 per cent disapproval, down two points.

He has also narrowed the gap to three points in his headto-head polling battle with Mr Biden, who has all but clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.

From a newly constructed television studio in his Delaware home, Mr Biden sat for a series of high-profile interviews yesterday.

The appearances were a preview of a more public role he’s hoping to assume in the coming weeks as he emerges as the Democratic counter to Mr Trump. In an interview with CNN, Mr Biden took an increasingly aggressive stance against the president’s coronavirus response, urging him to “stop talking and start listening to the medical experts”.

He sounded similar themes in an the interviews that followed, balancing his critiques of Mr Trump against anything that would seem to undermine the President during a crisis.

“I’ve not been criticising the President but I’ve been pointing out where there’s disagreements on how to proceed,” Mr Biden said.

“When the President says things that aren’t accurate, we should not say, ‘You’re lying.’ We should say, ‘Those aren’t the facts.”

Mr Biden has faced growing pressure from allies to speak out more about COVID-19.

In two fundraisers this past week, supporters asked how they could see more of Mr Biden as Mr Trump blankets the airwaves with daily, freewheeling briefings that drive each day’s news cycle.

Mr Trump is now referring to his expected competition in the November presidential election as “Sleepy Joe Biden”.

But the former vice president simply laughed on CNN when shown clips of Trump’s barbs. “What a piece of work,” Mr Biden said.