Last Monday, student loans were forgiven. This week, he called for tariffs on Chinese steel. President Biden is expected to soon protect federal lands in Alaska's wilderness.
As his re-election campaign heats up, Mr. Biden is relying heavily on his presidential powers to shore up support among key voters, including young people, labor union members and environmentalists, many of whom are behind him. He expressed disappointment with the response. Issues they care about.
It's a tactic often used by sitting presidents, but polls show support lags among some of the groups that helped Biden win the White House four years ago. This is a tactic that has become even more urgent for Mr. Biden. Campaign aides say the rapid succession of announcements shows the president is listening to their concerns.
It's also part of the camp's broader strategy to boil down voters' choices to a simple choice between governance and chaos. Mr. Biden's announcement is intended to draw a contrast with former President Donald J. Trump, who spent much of this week sitting in the defendant's box in the first of his four criminal trials.
“While Donald Trump screams at the echo chamber of MAGA extremism on Truth Social to get things done, like canceling student loan debt, protecting American manufacturing, and leading on the world stage, We have a president who is rallying people,” Michael said. Tyler is the communications director for Biden's re-election campaign.
Republicans see the president's flurry of policy announcements as an attempt to distract from the real issues of the party's campaign, including immigration, inflation, taxes and a weak foreign policy that has spurred actions by adversaries.
In a statement, Trump's campaign called Biden a “globalist nuisance to China” and accused him of making the lives of workers and families worse, not better.
“Biden's recent policy announcements are nothing more than a last-ditch attempt to save face with voters, who have been losing support for him for six months before the election,” said Caroline Leavitt, national spokeswoman for the former president's campaign. Stated.
Democrats are also focusing on issues with broader resonance, particularly abortion rights and democracy. And while the president's recent events have helped draw attention to his promises to key voters, the wheels of government often turn slowly, with the president's campaign trying to allay public concerns. It is by no means clear that targeted policy measures will be implemented in time. His voters.
The president's new student loan regulations won't be finalized until weeks before Election Day, but are likely to be blocked by legal challenges that could last months or even years. His proposed Chinese steel tariffs could take years to fully impact the U.S. market and would only address a fraction of the escalating economic challenges from Beijing. And the action in Alaska is just one of many government actions that environmentalists say are essential to protecting the planet.
Other policy moves by Mr. Biden could actually undermine his support among some of the same voter groups he is working hard to win over.
Biden on Wednesday endorsed new efforts in Congress to authorize foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs. He said in a statement that if the bill passes this weekend, he would “immediately sign it into law.” This includes about $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and about $14 billion in military aid to Israel, which is at war with Hamas.
Although the bill also includes about $10 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, it is likely to anger many Americans who oppose the president's support for Israel, including young voters. Tyler said the president will continue to say the death toll in Gaza is unacceptable, but he won't let the campaign dictate the president's course of action on complex foreign policy issues.
The bill also includes a hotly debated national security clause that could lead to a ban on TikTok because it is owned by a Chinese company. That possibility is sure to infuriate young people and social media entrepreneurs who spend countless hours on the app.
“People may not like or agree with every decision he makes in the moment,” Tyler said. “But when people go to the polls, that's basically not the basis of their decision.”
Recent voter surveys show that Biden has yet to appeal to some core voters. According to a poll released this week by the Harvard Institute of Politics, support for the president among young people is lower than previous Democratic candidates.
Molly Murphy, one of Biden's pollsters, said she saw an improvement in campaigning among young people and other groups as the president consolidated support with traditional voters.
But he said the campaign wants voters to believe that Biden cares about their issues and is fighting for them, even if he doesn't think Biden is fully addressing the issues. said it was necessary.
“He's not just keeping his word. This shows he hasn't backed away from his commitment,” she said. “We're seeing them actively engaged and coming together as supporters of the president, and as the president continues to talk to them about things that are important to them, that will continue, of course. We anticipate.”
Aides say now is the time to emphasize Biden's commitment to policy positions as voters begin to pay more attention to the options before them.
On April 8, Mr. Biden traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, to announce new regulations that would forgive a portion of federal student loan debt for up to 30 million Americans. It was the president's second attempt to fulfill a campaign promise after the Supreme Court blocked an earlier plan.
Mr. Biden has promised to be the most pro-union president in history, and some of the nation's largest labor unions say he has kept his promise. But his policies have frustrated some blue-collar union members, many of whom voted for Trump in the last election.
On Wednesday, Biden visited Pittsburgh and called for a tripling of tariffs on steel imports from China, a position supported by union members at American companies. He also emphasized his opposition to the acquisition of US Steel by a Japanese company.
In a campaign ad released the same day, Jojo Burgess, a steelworker from Washington, Pennsylvania, contrasted the president's efforts to represent the nation's steelworkers with those of his predecessor.
“After a lot of lip service in the previous administration, we listened to Donald Trump talk about infrastructure for four years,” Burgess said in the 60-second ad. “Joe Biden got it done.”
Mr. Biden frequently cites record levels of climate-friendly investment in legislation he championed early in his presidency. But some voters want more. The Home Office is expected to close down the Ambler Access Project in the coming days. The Ambler Access Project is a vital road to reach an estimated $7.5 billion worth of copper deposits buried in ecologically sensitive land.
When it comes to policy decisions that some people might disagree with, Murphy said, even voters who care deeply about issues like the humanitarian crisis in Gaza can base their decisions on a variety of strongly held beliefs. He said that there is a high possibility that the president will make a decision.
“They're also very concerned about abortion, democracy and their own economic interests,” she says. “They will consider multiple factors when deciding who to vote for.”