CNN: Why Trump can’t make the election about Biden

I spoke to CNN‘s Ron Brownstein about the Trump campaign’s inability to land a glove on Joe Biden, and what it portends for November.

Trump’s deficit now “is not something you can tactically maneuver out of,” says Liam Donovan, a Republican consultant. “There has to be some kind of fundamental inflection point that gives people hope or reassurance that some form of normalcy will return.”

Put another way, Trump at this point appears to be running not so much against Biden as against the pandemic. And — as caseloads and hospitalizations soar, the death toll ticks up and the economy remains in turmoil — the pandemic is decisively winning that confrontation.

Biden’s vote share against Trump did more closely track his favorability among some groups — including college-educated whites and seniors — but overall the results underscore the conclusion of analysts in both parties such as Donovan, who says flatly: “It’s not going to be a race about Joe Biden. It’s going to be a race about the President and how he is comporting himself down the stretch.”

Read the full piece here.

While you’re at it, check out my discussion with Ron exploring this and 2020 more broadly on this week’s episode of The Lobby Shop.

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