WASHINGTON: If anyone expected Joe Biden and his election campaign to be celebrating Donald Trump’s criminal conviction, they were disappointed.
Instead Biden appears to be treading a fine line between reminding voters that his opponent is a convicted felon, while simultaneously keeping a presidential distance above the fray.
His campaign stressed that Trump — who has repeatedly claimed without evidence that the case was political — remains a dangerous threat as he eyes a comeback to the White House.
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law,” Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement.
“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain.
“But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.”
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The White House was even less keen to get its hands dirty after the former occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was convicted on all 34 counts in his hush money case.
“We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment,” Ian Sams, White House Counsel’s Office spokesperson, said in a curt statement.
From Biden himself there was no comment on Thursday.
The president was at his home in Delaware on what was already a hugely significant day for him — nine years to the day after his son Beau’s death from brain cancer in 2015, aged 46.
In a normal US election year it would be game over if one’s opponent was convicted in court, but 2024 is no normal campaign.
Analysts said that while Trump’s guilty verdict would energize his base of supporters and help him fundraise, it would be unlikely to significantly swing the dial in his favor.
For his part, Biden will be hoping that the verdict can sway even a small number of independents or wavering voters who could be crucial in one of the closest White House races in living memory.
“It helps Biden for this reason: I’m Joe Biden and I’m not a convicted felon,” said Democratic strategist Rachel Bitecofer.
But Biden will also be keen to avoid giving Trump ammunition for his baseless accusations that the trial was somehow ordered by the president.
“These are uncharted waters,” said David Karol, who teaches government and politics at the University of Maryland.
“Definitely Democratic surrogates are going to talk about this a lot. For Biden it’s a little trickier... he’s wanted to avoid the impression that he is directing the prosecution of his opponent,” Karol told AFP.
Biden has largely avoided commenting on the case so far and will likely continue, instead letting Trump’s conviction speak for itself, in an election that he’s already framed as a fight for the future of American democracy.
“I don’t think this is the kind of thing that Biden needs to talk about to bring it to voters’ attention. It’s a big deal, it’s historic,” said Karol.
But it may be hard for Biden — who has previously joked about Trump falling asleep in his trial — to resist any comment.
Biden and Trump are due to face each other in their first televised debate on June 27 — just over two weeks before Trump is set to be sentenced.
“If they actually appear in a debate, I wouldn’t be surprised if in the heat of the moment it comes up,” said Karol.
