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Tags: democratic | primary | mediaducking | strategy

Axelrod: Biden's Media Ducking 'Not Tenable Strategy'

joe biden, wearing sunglasses,  shakes hands with supporters.
Former Vice President Joe Biden at his presidential campaign kick-off. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

By    |   Sunday, 23 June 2019 10:17 AM EDT

Former Vice President Joe Biden might be riding the coattails of former President Barack Obama's popularity, but his media-ducking strategy might prove costly in the Democratic primary, The Daily Beast reported.

"I think that it is never a good idea to sit on a lead," Obama administration Democratic strategist David Axelrod told the Best. "That rarely works out well, and that's what they're doing."

The report cited instances in which Biden has resorted to speaking to the press as part of damage control and his skipping of The New York Times interview series with the Democratic primary participants – without an explanation. The Daily Beast called it "duck the press unless you're under duress."

"It is not a tenable strategy," Axelrod told the Beast. "His message is that he's the guy who can beat Donald Trump and he is viewed as the least risky choice. Over time, if the only interactions he has is around these screwups and gaffes, then he is going to start losing that message."

Attacks on Biden's candidacy have come from his making women uncomfortable, flipping on the Hyde Amendment which banned federal funds for abortion, and a lack of apologizing for working with segretionalists who formerly led in Congress as Democrats.

All this has come while Biden has turned down national television appearance requests, despite maintaining a large lead in the Democratic primary polling. RealClearPolitics has Biden leading by 16.9 points in its national polling average.

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Politics
Former Vice President Joe Biden might be riding the coattails of former President Barack Obama's popularity, but his media-ducking strategy might prove costly in the Democratic primary, The Daily Beast reported."I think that it is never a good idea to sit on a lead," Obama...
democratic, primary, mediaducking, strategy
241
2019-17-23
Sunday, 23 June 2019 10:17 AM
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