CNN
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Three presidents — one incumbent and two former presidents — will descend on Pennsylvania on Saturday for the final stretch of midterm elections underscoring what will be one of the most closely watched Senate elections in the United States. increase.
For President Joe Biden, who makes rare appearances with former President Barack Obama in Philadelphia to endorse Democratic nominee Lt. The equivalent of a political stress test in the state.Since taking office.
For former President Donald Trump, who is rallying in the Pittsburgh suburb of Latrobe, the victory of his hand-picked candidate, Dr. May prove viability.
The results stretch far beyond next week’s election. As Trump prepares to announce his third presidential run, perhaps in the coming weeks, Biden’s aides will take their own steps toward launching a re-election campaign. is stepping out. Over the course of several hours Saturday afternoon, the dynamics of a potential 2020 rematch will be revealed.
This moment marks a historical anomaly. The former president typically treads modestly into everyday politics and largely avoids direct criticism of the men who once occupied his office, his first term since Grover Cleveland’s defeat in 1892. No president has ever won the White House again.
Every time presidents come together in Pennsylvania to warn of disastrous consequences if the opposition wins, they reflect the changing norms that Trump caused when he took office nearly six years ago, giving Obama a chance to win. False accusations of espionage and general fraud were quickly filed against it.
Biden, who has spent much of his first year in office trying not to mention Trump by name, is no longer so cautious. He called out “Trump and all his Trumpies” at a rally in California this week and identified Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as “Trump incarnate” at a fundraiser outside Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday. Did. At his own rallies, Trump plays slip-up video reels to cast his successor as a gaffe-prone senior, but not as often as Obama.
Meanwhile, Obama has been the most vocal critic of Trump-backed candidates, many of whom have denied the 2020 election results and modeled themselves on the 45th president.
“Just because someone’s on TV doesn’t mean they’ll do well. Ultimately, it turns out that being president or governor is more than snappy lines and good lighting.
The Pennsylvania senator and gubernatorial elections are the only marquee race of this year’s mid-cycle that Biden has run into repeatedly. It’s here.
That was not the case for Mr. Obama, who was in high demand among Democrats in a close race. In the final weeks of his campaign, Obama held raucous rallies in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. Biden has shunned over the past few months as the candidate works to stem the Republican Party’s momentum.
This is a 180-degree turn from the mid-cycle during Obama’s presidency, when Biden moved into more states, including conservative districts where the incumbent president was seen as holding back Democratic candidates. is.
Officials said Mr. Biden was little frustrated or surprised that Mr. Obama was trailing him in the race this year. He has discussed several campaigns with his former boss and believes Obama’s message resonates with voters and complements his own.
Still, their joint appearance on Saturday only serves to highlight their diverse styles and political prowess — even some Democrats say they end up endorsing Obama.
“I know you always ask how we’re doing. I think we’re going to win this time,” Biden told reporters in California on Friday.
The president is bullish about the chances of the Democrats next week, even as many Democrats become increasingly worried about their party’s prospects. A blue state that hunts down voters and is itself a sign of Democratic fragility.
On the final day of the campaign, Biden had mostly traveled to the blue states he won, but Democrats are still in a tighter race than expected. I’m going to Pennsylvania to campaign on Sunday with New York Governor Kathy Hochul. He spends the night before the election in Maryland.
People familiar with Biden’s thinking say he acknowledges that not all Democratic candidates will welcome him as a proxy while his approval ratings have languished. Democrats, he said he respects their political instincts when it comes to their race.
But he is frustrated by reports suggesting he is a political albatross, according to people familiar with the conversation, and his policies, when properly explained, are widely popular with voters. claims that
Compared to both Obama and Trump, Biden has held far fewer campaign rallies for his party during this mid-cycle. It was delivered to a crowd of only a few dozen people.
His rallies began to draw larger crowds during the waning days of the campaign.600 people were turned away from an event in Southern California on Friday, according to the White House. And when Biden was holding a rally with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, he addressed an overflow crowd in New Mexico who couldn’t fit into the main venue.
“I know you don’t think so, but I think we have a pretty good audience. They’re pretty enthusiastic. You didn’t write it that way, but they do.” said Biden as he left California on Friday.
Still, his events have not generated the same power as Obama’s.The former president has attacked and stabbed Trump and his supporters at a series of rallies across the country over the past few weeks mocked Republicans with an air of humor and confusion.
Like Biden, he also argued that America’s system of government is at stake in next week’s election, telling crowds in Arizona that if anyone who denies the election is inaugurated, “the democracy as we know it.” He said there is a possibility that the “ism” will collapse.
Obama and Biden last appeared at the White House together in September, when an official portrait of Obama was unveiled in the East Room of the White House. Partly because of a lack of interest, the event was postponed while Trump was in office.
Trump will be campaigning for his favorite candidate this fall, but he’s done little to hide his larger intentions. He wants him back in the White House to bolster his own likely presidential campaign.
“Get ready. That’s all I’m saying,” Trump told a crowd in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, adding, “I’ll probably do the same thing again.”
Aides to President Trump have discussed the third week of November as an ideal starting point for the 2024 presidential election if Republicans do well in the midterms, sources familiar with the matter said.
In Biden’s case, the decision may take a little longer. When asked about his own timeline, he pointed to family discussions around the vacation. made initial preparations for the infrastructure of
His motivating factor, according to aides, is whether Trump will dive into himself.
