Biden hopes to use Florida’s ‘extreme MAGA Republicans’ as foils for his closing midterm pitch
CNNNov 01, 2022
The Facts
Pres. Biden is traveling to Florida on Tuesday, just a week before the 2022 midterms. He'll hold an event at Hallandale Beach to speak about Social Security and Medicare and will attend a campaign event at Miami Gardens.
He's planning to campaign for Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee for governor, as well as Rep. Val Demings, who is challenging Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. Former president Trump is also expected to campaign for Rubio this week in Miami.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The Biden administration views Florida as the perfect political backdrop to frame the midterms as a choice between "extreme MAGA Republicans" and Democrats. The trip is also an important opportunity to size up a potential 2024 rival in DeSantis as Biden looks to solidify his own position as the incumbent Democratic nominee.
Republican narrative
So far, Biden has been missing in battleground states such as Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. This could be due to his low approval ratings or simply because he cannot handle the campaigning at his age. Clearly, Biden is a liability to his own party — otherwise, he would be stumping where it matters at this vital time.
Nerd narrative
There's an 11% chance that Joe Biden will announce that he will not run for president in 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
