At RNC, Republicans have a strategy against the president: ‘Let Biden be himself’

There’s nothing but euphoria at the Republican National Convention this week among participants, and a big reason is that party loyalists think President Joe Biden will be easy to beat.

Some say it’s because his policies have been ruinous, a theme speakers hammer away at relentlessly each night of this convention.

The other reason, spoken more in conversations and smaller gatherings, is that they see Biden as aged and confused.

There are warnings, though, that Biden could be tougher than people think.

“The election ain’t over till it’s over and we’re a long way from being over,” Robert Cahaly, a Republican pollster, told South Carolina delegates at a breakfast meeting this week.

“Our activists are fine, but donors are sitting back thinking this is over,” he warned.

Before Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, independent pollsters showed him with slight leads in key swing states. Those polls were taken shortly after Biden had a disastrous debate June 27 with Trump.

Since then, many Democrats have urged him to drop out of the race, including U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, who suggested on Wednesday that Biden should get out. Schiff is the nominee for a California U.S. Senate seat.

Is Biden too old?

Republicans at the convention uniformly see nothing but momentum for Trump, no matter who runs against him.

But they see plenty to campaign on with Biden on the other side of the race.

“Mentally he’s an empty suit, and his policies have completely failed,” said Kim Pacini Hauch, a Sacramento real estate agent.

Many people mentioned Biden’s age and mental acuity first when asked how the GOP would beat Biden.

“He’s not there. Do you think mentally he’s actually running the government? It’s elder abuse,” said Amin Salkhi, who owns a gas station on the Fresno/Merced, Calif., border.

“You can see his mental ability is starting to deteriorate,” said Bill Oden, chairman of the Sumter County, S.C., Republican Party.

Julie Scott Emmons, a delegate from Alamance County, North Carolina, said she’s not thinking about Biden’s campaign. ‘

“Right now I’d rather just focus on President Trump and JD Vance and getting them in office,” Scott Emons said. “The Democratic Party has a difficult decision to make.”

The turning point in the election has been the June 27 debate, said Cindy Siddoway, Republican national committeewoman from Idaho.

People did not want to see Biden drop out, even though he’s been running close to Trump in recent polls.

Paul Glumaz, a delegate from King County, Washington, said the Democrats’ best chance in the 2024 election, is to keep Biden in the race and then regroup after the election.

“If they decide to dump Biden, it’s going to cause a lot more issues that will carry over into the period after the election for the Democrats,” Glumaz said.

Slamming Biden’s policies

Others listed inflation, immigration, crime and other ills.

“Yes, his age is a big problem, but we totally disagree with his policies on free elections, immigration and the economy” said Harrison Musselwhite, a truck driver from Greenville, S.C.

Betsy Morin, chairwoman of the Sacramento County Republican Party, listed Biden’s problem policies in staccato-like fashion — inflation, safety, jobs, and so on. “Go to every county. Every county is being negatively impacted by Biden’s policies,” she said.

Inflation spiked under Biden as the country recovered from a slowed economy during the Covid pandemic. The cost of living was up 9.1% in June 2022, its steepest increase in more than 40 years. Price increases have slowed and increased 3% in the 12 months that ended in June.

Unemployment, which hit double digits during the pandemic, was 4.1% last month.

People aren’t feeling the improvements, Republicans said. Combine that with Biden’s appearance and the GOP has a simple, winning formula, said Ricardo St. Louis-Franklin of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

“Let Biden be himself,” he said.