The crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls is poised to hit the debate stage next week for their first primary debate, and the candidates aren’t the only ones preparing — President Joe Biden is also planning to use the event to clear his own path to reelection.
As candidates navigate questions about their campaign platforms and future plans, the Biden campaign is leaning on a strategy to allow the group to “out-MAGA each other” with what they consider to be unpopular policies, according to a memo obtained by NBC News. In doing so, the president’s team plans to counter those messages with attacks on a slew of issues such as abortion and protecting democracy.
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“The 2024 Republicans are focusing on litigating the benefits of slavery, which books they want to ban from schools, and a made-up war on ‘woke’ that they themselves can’t even define,” the memo reads. “That’s a race for the MAGA base, not a pathway to winning a general election in 2024.”
The Biden campaign plans to hit out against the GOP on five specific issues, including Social Security and Medicare, taxes for the wealthy, gun restrictions, abortion, and efforts to undermine or outright overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to the memo.
The president’s team will expand these attacks not just against former President Donald Trump but across the board to hit candidates such as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. Trump is not expected to attend the debate on Wednesday.
“The American people will see a stage full of people espousing a losing vision they disagree with, in contrast to a president who stands with them and fights for their families,” the memo states.
Even if Trump isn’t present onstage, the former president will likely be the main focus of the debate as he continues to dominate polling despite facing several criminal indictments. Several candidates are expected to use those charges as fodder against Trump as they pitch themselves as his best replacement — while others are planning to stay silent to remain in the former president’s good graces.
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Five candidates so far have qualified for the first debate and signed the Republican National Committee candidate pledge to appear onstage next week: DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Haley, Scott, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Three others — Trump, Christie, and Pence — have also qualified but have not yet signed the pledge, which is required to participate. Pence and Christie have signaled they will sign it before the event takes place, while Trump has outright refused.
