it is spectacle, not facts, that matters in Trump world. In 2016, Democrats made the mistake of thinking they could “factcheck” their way to victory, pointing out the many ways in which Trump’s statements were false or misleading. To beat Trump you don’t need better facts, though, you need a better narrative. Trump’s message is a simple and powerful one: I love America, they hate America, I will create greatness, they will create poverty, violence and misery. The Biden team leans heavily on carefully pointing out that much of what Trump says is wrong. This is important, but it’s not enough. Hillary Clinton found this out the hard way.
Joe Biden still hasn’t really developed a political identity for the election. He boasts of having the “most progressive platform” since FDR, yet the Democratic convention spurned young leftists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, choosing instead to showcase anti-Trump Republicans. Some seem to think the best strategy for Biden is just to lie low and be a warm body, a name on the ballot that isn’t Trump. I am certain most Americans cannot name a Biden policy proposal or even his campaign slogan (that’s a trick, he actually has eight campaign slogans). Like Hillary Clinton, Biden has major political liabilities, having been associated with the very administration whose failures Trump was elected by campaigning against.
