With a hoped-for dash of Taylor Swift on the side, President Joe Biden’s campaign is looking for a new way to give his campaign some life and some cash by piggybacking on some big names in Democratic circles.
The campaign is working to have former Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama join Biden at a spring fundraiser, according to NBC News, which cited the four people familiar with the discussions as its source.
The event, still in the discussion stage, would take place in March or April.
The report said the idea “underscores the belief among Biden allies that the party needs an all-hands-on-deck approach to help him win a second term” in November, when he is likely to face GOP front-runner and former President Donald Trump.
“There is real focus and urgency around making sure we beat Trump,” a Biden adviser said. “Everyone is all in. And this kind of event early on is just the latest demonstration of that.”
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The event is designed not only to get cash for the campaign but also to link Biden to two former presidents who are more popular than he is.
The Biden campaign also could launch a massive ad campaign beginning in March, roughly timed to the president’s State of the Union address.
And then there is Taylor Swift.
The pop star endorsed Biden in 2020, and his campaign is salivating over how much money could be raised if she made an appeal, according to The New York Times.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has been urging Swift to come aboard.
“Taylor Swift stands tall and unique,” the Democrat said. “What she was able to accomplish just in getting young people activated to consider that they have a voice and that they should have a choice in the next election, I think, is profoundly powerful.”
Taylor Swift could sway 2024 election outcome, new poll finds with a FIFTH of voters ‘likely’ to back candidate endorsed by singer https://t.co/WQ70VmcALE pic.twitter.com/q6g7TfTx9M
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 28, 2024
While Biden is looking at shoring up his base, the Republican front-runner wants to grab a piece of it by increasing his share of the black vote, according to ABC News.
“We are creating a massive problem for the Democratic Party’s base that … could be altering for a generation,” said Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser on the Trump campaign. “That’s just an opportunity that we would be remiss if we didn’t exploit it.”
Mary Frances Berry, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania, said economic and breadbasket issues are leading black men to turn away from Biden, according to Newsweek.
“Young blacks have begun avoiding discussion of their lack of enthusiasm about Biden with their parents when the older adults are what they regard as too uncritical of the President and overly concerned with Trump’s rhetoric,” Berry said.
Candis Smith, a professor of political science at Duke University, said multiple motivations are at work.
“Some black Americans are dissatisfied with the status quo; others are disappointed that the Democratic party, which they have supported for decades, is not providing a real opportunity to express their dismay,” she said. “Still more, there are black voters who truly like Trump while others may simply be suggesting that they are not beholden to societal expectations.
“It is worth noting that black Americans, especially younger black folks, have been drifting away from identifying as Democrats and toward independence for quite some time,” Smith said.
“We have seen fluctuations in black partisan identity and party support before,” she said. “Here, we may be seeing what happens when a group perceives they must choose between ‘the lesser of two evils.’”
