If this had been any other extraordinary event of historical importance, any other event that could have shaken the fabric of the nation, the President of the United States might have stood before the cameras and tried to calm the public and encourage confidence in the American judicial system.
But this is no ordinary, unusual case. And President Biden was no disinterested bystander. As America was coming to terms with the first presidential conviction on Thursday night, the sitting president was effectively disengaged from the case, facing off against a newly convicted felon.
Biden's absence in the hours after former President Donald J. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts illustrates the awkward position the current White House occupant faces when it comes to holding his predecessor accountable. Biden's direct comments would surely bolster Trump's false claims that the prosecution's case is merely a political attack aimed at eliminating his opponent. But some Democrats are still frustrated by the president's public silence.
Biden’s “the more you do, the more you’re criticized for not doing” conundrum means his political risks essentially outweigh his presidential responsibilities. While many of his predecessors have stepped up to the chaplaincy role in other moments when incendiary cases have tested the justice system, such as Rodney King, Michael Brown and George Floyd, Biden has concluded that speaking out makes things worse, not better.
“Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this, but Biden needs to speak calmly about the conviction,” said David Axelrod, who served as a senior adviser to President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president. “It's a sad and shocking day for our country, but we are a nation of laws, not a nation of men. This is a bedrock principle of our Constitution and our democracy, and even the president should abide by it.”
Biden has expressed these principles before, but this time he is navigating a dangerous political impasse unlike any other president before him. In some ways, from Biden's perspective, it's the worst of both worlds, a situation that poses more threats than opportunities.
Not only does he find himself uncomfortable playing the role of comforter-in-chief as the family patriarch, but he also finds himself refraining from reminding voters that his challenger is now a criminal. He can’t be president or a candidate, but instead will be a silent witness, trusting that his fellow Americans will see things the way he does, without telling them exactly what he thinks.
Jennifer Palmieri, Hillary Clinton's former communications director, said Biden's comments likely won't persuade supporters of his opponent because they are already reeling from four criminal indictments, including charges of misappropriating classified documents and illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election that he lost.
“Trump supporters who are outraged by the verdict cannot remain calm if they are swayed by a Democratic or Republican president who does not support Donald Trump,” she said. “Even if Biden were not your political opponent, if you are outraged by the verdict and are prepared to take to the streets, a Democratic president cannot appeal to you. That is the sad reality of the current presidency.”
Indeed, Trump has sought to encourage Biden to be involved in the New York case and other prosecutions, falsely claiming that the president masterminded all of them. While Biden appointed an attorney general who has overseen two federal cases against Trump, there is no evidence that the president himself or the White House played any role in those cases. And the New York case, like the Georgia election interference case, was brought by a local prosecutor who does not report to the president.
Of course, that didn't stop Trump from making the opposite claim immediately after the conviction: “This is something the Biden administration did to hurt their enemies, their political opponents,” he said outside the courthouse. His allies quickly spread the claim. On Fox News, hosts and guests spoke of “evil forces” and “evil people” hunting down Trump, and shifted the blame for the prosecution onto Biden, who was now the “villain.”
The idea that the Justice Department is simply a political weapon for Biden would certainly be a surprise to him, given that the department is set to try Biden's own son, Hunter, on federal firearms charges on Monday.
But rather than buy into Trump's conspiracy theories, Biden left the formal response to Thursday's ruling to his aides. Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House Counsel's Office, issued a one-sentence statement saying, “We respect the rule of law and have no further comment.”
The president's campaign was less restrained but sought to minimize expectations that a conviction would fundamentally change the race or that Biden would make it a central part of his campaign.
“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed that he could break the law for his own self-interest and not face punishment,” campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in a statement. “But today's verdict does not change the simple reality facing the American people: the only way to keep Donald Trump from the Oval Office remains the ballot box. With or without a conviction, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”
The president's reluctance to confront the issue too directly didn't stop him from trying to solicit donations, just as his opponents had already done: Within hours of the jury's verdict, Biden sent out a donation appeal to supporters that echoed Tyler's comments.
“Despite the jury's guilty verdict today against Donald Trump, there is only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office — the ballot box,” he said, adding that “Donald Trump's supporters are fired up and will likely break fundraising records for his campaign.”
A Biden adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the president doesn't need to campaign on the assumption that Trump will be convicted because voters have already been presented with that information. The adviser said he doesn't think the ruling will change a race that polls show is extremely close, especially in key battleground states where an Electoral College victory is needed.
Instead, Biden will continue to focus his case to voters on issues such as the economy, abortion rights and democracy, the adviser said. He said he did not expect the campaign to run ads focusing on Trump's status as a convicted felon, or that Biden would try to withdraw from the June 27 debate because he shouldn't be on stage with felons, as some Democrats have argued.
It's telling of today's politics that confronting convicted criminals is not seen as a winning strategy. And yet Biden and his team have become increasingly willing to poke at Trump's criminal problems in recent weeks. The president has mocked his predecessor for falling asleep during his trial (“Sleepy Don”) and sent actor Robert De Niro to the courthouse to hold a press conference blasting Trump (“Guilty and we all know it”).
Biden is not scheduled to make a public statement about the ruling but is almost certain to be asked about it by reporters in the coming days and is likely to offer some thoughts then, aides said.
The president will spend Thursday at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, before flying to Washington on Friday to meet with the visiting Belgian prime minister and host a banquet for the Kansas City Chiefs before returning to Delaware for the weekend. Next week he will head to France for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
It's a contrast the Biden team is very happy to see: While the commander in chief welcomes foreign leaders and football champions to the White House and visits the iconic beaches of Normandy to pay tribute to American heroes, his challenger prepares for a sentencing hearing that could result in prison time.
“Trump will sink further into anger and self-pity that he can't control,” Axelrod said. “Biden and his team would do well to contrast a president who is fighting to address the real concerns of Americans with a Trump who is only fighting for himself.”