Biden, Obama and Harris work in concert to reach crucial voting blocs in the home stretch

Biden “is not going to screw up testing. He’s not going to call scientists idiots. He’s not going to host a super spreader event at the White House, and then take it on a tour all across the country!” said Obama, whose critique of Trump only got sharper from there. 

“Our current president, he whines that “60 Minutes” is too tough. Do you think he is going to stand up to dictators? He thinks Leslie Stahl is a bully!” 

“This is not normal behavior. We wouldn’t tolerate it from a coworker. We wouldn’t tolerate it from a football coach. … Even ‘Florida Man’ wouldn’t be doing some of this stuff!” Obama exclaimed, name-dropping a popular Twitter account that pokes fun at bizarre news stories in the state. 

At first glance, it might seem like Biden “went high,” appealing to Americans’ better angels, while Obama “went low,” appealing to people’s desire to see Trump mocked the same way he mocks his opponents. 

But there’s more to it than that. 

With a week to go before Election Day and more than 60 million ballots already cast, the three members of the Biden “A-team” — the former vice president; his running mate, Kamala Harris, and now, in the homestretch, Obama — are each delivering a slightly different message but one that is aimed squarely at a key voting bloc that could swing the election. 

Biden is speaking primarily to crossover Republicans and independent voters, both of whom are key to winning states that Trump won in 2016, such as Georgia, Iowa and Michigan.  

Meanwhile, Obama’s message is aimed at younger voters, precisely the ones who would recognize his “Florida Man” quip, at Black voters and at Hispanic voters, who cheered every time Obama said, “Si se puede” in Orlando on Tuesday. 

Harris, the third member of the A-team, has been strategically deployed in recent days to appeal to still more distinct constituencies: Black and urban voters in the Midwest and in the Southwest. 

A Trump campaign spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Biden’s final week strategy. But the president has been relentless in his criticism of Biden and increasingly, Obama.

Taken together, the Biden campaign’s three different messages and their respective messengers represent a cohesive and aggressive strategy, one that reflects both their awareness of where Biden’s vulnerabilities lie and a striking degree of confidence in a hugely expanded electoral map.  

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/27/joe-biden-barack-obama-kamala-harris-work-in-concert-to-reach-crucial-voters.html