{"id":2282041,"date":"2024-06-23T05:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-23T09:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-faces-debate-trap-over-trump-hush-money-conviction-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-23T05:12:05","modified_gmt":"2024-06-23T09:12:05","slug":"biden-faces-debate-trap-over-trump-hush-money-conviction-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-faces-debate-trap-over-trump-hush-money-conviction-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden faces debate trap over Trump hush money conviction &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-faces-debate-trap-over-trump-hush-money-conviction-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2282041&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former\u2064 President Donald \u2063Trump&#8217;s recent conviction\u200c has created an opportunity for President Joe\u200b Biden to connect with\u200d independent\u200d voters critical to the upcoming presidential election. As Biden prepares for\u2062 the first of two debates against Trump, he faces the\u200b challenge of balancing aggressive campaign strategies focused on \u2062Trump\u2019s felony conviction with accusations\u2064 from Republicans that the \u200dtrial was politically fueled. The Biden campaign has been vocal, describing\u2062 Trump\u200d as a &#8220;felon&#8221; and\u2064 planning to invest in \u200bads that highlight the conviction. However, opinions vary among Democrats \u200con how Biden should \u200bhandle the situation, with some advising\u2062 that \u2063he\u2063 let the\u200b conviction speak for itself. Meanwhile, \u2064Republicans\u200d argue \u200bthat the \u200dtrial was a political tactic\u200d to prevent Trump from returning to the presidency, \u2064and Trump himself is expected to\u2063 use this narrative to\u2062 his advantage in\u200d the debates. Joe Biden will\u2062 likely need to address \u2063this issue, framing it\u2063 as\u2063 indicative of Trump&#8217;s chaotic\u2063 nature and contrasting their characters and \u200dimpacts on democratic\u200b stability.\u2062 Additionally, debates might touch upon other sensitive topics, like the legal troubles \u2064of\u200d Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter, offering another \u200dlayer of complexity to \u2064the\u200c campaign\u200c discourse.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware \u2014 <\/strong>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s conviction last month provides an opportunity for President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> to appeal to the independent voters who will decide the presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>But as he prepares for the first of two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/debates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>debates<\/a> with the former president on Thursday, Biden will have to weigh how hard to go after Trump on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-director-wont-say-if-trump-conviction-is-election-interference\/\" title=\"FBI Director Silent on Whether Trump's Conviction Constitutes 'Election Interference\">hush money guilty verdict<\/a> as Republicans allege the trial was politically motivated. <\/p>\n<p>The Biden campaign was quick to describe Trump as a \u201cfelon\u201d last month in written statements, including billboards, before announcing this week it would spend millions on ads in June amplifying the former president\u2019s conviction. Biden himself called the verdict \u201cdisturbing\u201d at his first post-conviction fundraiser.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFolks, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-calls-trump-2024-run-disturbing-at-first-post-conviction-fundraiser\/\" title=\"Biden describes Trump's 2024 bid as 'disturbing' at fundraiser\">campaign entered unchartered territory<\/a> last week,\u201d\u00a0Biden\u00a0told donors earlier this month in Greenwich, Connecticut. \u201cFor the first time in American history, a former president that is a\u00a0convicted\u00a0felon\u00a0is now seeking the office of the presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Biden campaign\u2019s strategy could be working, with a Fox News poll this week finding the president\u2019s standing has improved among independents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/official-polls\/fox-news-poll-three-point-shift-biden-trump-matchup-since-may\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>by 11 percentage points<\/a> since May, when Trump was found to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-arrest-timeline-of-trumps-indictment-involving-hush-money-payments\/\" title=\"Donald Trump arrest: Timeline of Trump's indictment involving hush money payments\">falsified business records related<\/a> to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.<\/p>\n<p>But Democrats, including former Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, are urging Biden, who departed Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, earlier this week to hunker down for debate prep at Camp David, to let the verdict speak for itself, given the trial \u201cwas wall-to-wall news on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would leave it alone if I were President Biden,\u201d Gansler told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cEverybody knows about the convictions. \u2026 I would think he would want to stay above the fray on that and not get into the mud with Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are eager to convince swing voters that the trial, prosecuted in Manhattan court, was the product of a political campaign to keep him out of the White House, and if Biden leans too hard into the messaging, he risks identifying himself with what was a state-level case.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department, which is prosecuting two federal cases against Trump related to Jan. 6 and his handling of classified documents, calls the idea of collusion with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a \u201cconspiracy theory,\u201d but Trump is likely to bring it up given his fixation on the legal battles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcept for those irrationally committed to left-wing politics, I firmly believe normal people know these cases against Trump are absurd and assume they will be overturned,\u201d Bud Cummins, a former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-w-bush\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>George W. Bush<\/a>-appointed Arkansas U.S. attorney and longtime Trump ally, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cI hope the people who make decisions for Biden bring them up as often as possible [during the debate] to remind people how he and his cohorts have politically weaponized our system of laws and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The allegations by Republicans mean Biden will likely have to address the conviction in some form. Gansler believes a productive way would be to frame the trial as part of the larger narrative that chaos follows Trump everywhere he goes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would certainly think he could focus on the difference in character of the two of them, the mental health between the two of them, and draw out a contrast of Trump being dangerous for the future of democracy and Biden having righted the ship after Trump left office,\u201d he said. \u201cThose types of contrast would be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gansler conceded some of the public thinks \u201cthose charges against Trump are politically motivated\u201d but argued \u201cmost of them don\u2019t think they\u2019re politically motivated by President Biden.\u201d GOP operative Karl Rove, citing debate experts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/experts-handicap-the-trump-biden-debate-9ce9ba95\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>suggested<\/a> the topic would largely be a waste of time in a recent <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> commentary piece.<\/p>\n<p>Trump could bring up Biden\u2019s son Hunter at the debate, as he did last election cycle to allege the Biden family engaged in influence-peddling during his vice presidency, a claim the White House denies. Recently, Hunter Biden was convicted in a federal gun trial in Delaware and faces a second prosecution in California on tax evasion charges.<\/p>\n<p>But even that line of attack could allow Joe Biden to come across as a sympathetic father to his son, who has praised his son\u2019s recovery from drug addiction, and help neutralize the claims that the court system is weaponized against Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s fixed it. He\u2019s worked on it,\u201d the former vice president said in 2020 during his opening debate with Trump, who brought up the addiction plus Hunter Biden\u2019s position on the board of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ukrainian<\/a> energy company Burisma. \u201cI\u2019m proud of him. I\u2019m proud of my son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, Gansler recommended that Joe Biden keep his responses \u201cshort and sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe should say, \u2018Unlike some others, I respect the judicial process. I don\u2019t attack our judicial process. I don\u2019t attack our judges. I\u2019m going to let this, the judicial process play itself out,&#8217;\u201d he said. \u201cI think any attack on Trump directly on convictions will welcome an attack back to him on Hunter. I think he could talk about preserving democracy and things like, \u2018The Jan. 6 treasonous incident cannot and would not be tolerated under his second administration,\u2019 that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Joe Biden and Trump\u2019s first debate of 2024 will be moderated by CNN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jake-tapper\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jake Tapper<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dana-bash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dana Bash<\/a> in Atlanta on Thursday\u00a0at\u00a09 p.m. and will air without a studio audience.\u00a0The\u00a090-minute broadcast will be interrupted for two commercial breaks, during which\u00a0the\u00a0candidates will not be able\u00a0to\u00a0confer with their campaigns, as part of an agreement made without\u00a0the\u00a0Commission on Presidential Debates for\u00a0the\u00a0first time in almost 40 years.<\/p>\n<p>ABC will\u00a0host the\u00a0second debate on Sept. 10.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former President Donald Trump&#8217;s recent conviction offers President Joe Biden a chance to attract independent voters crucial for the election. As Biden gears up for Thursday&#8217;s debate against Trump, he faces the challenge of deciding the intensity of his approach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2282042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24104758314822.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[3620,15927,3896,22021,16921,3634],"class_list":["post-2282041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-biden","tag-conviction","tag-debate","tag-hush-money","tag-trap","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24104758314822.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2282041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2282041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2282041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2282041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}