President Biden
Trump’s frequent embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Despite that history, the White House has signaled that Trump is not going to be a major part of its talking points on the Russia crisis.
It fits in with a pattern, as Biden has generally avoided putting the focus on Trump. An exception was the anniversary of the Jan. 6 on the Capitol, when Biden offered blistering criticism of Trump’s role.
Biden has tried to strike a unifying tone on Ukraine as he’s sought support for both parties. Republicans have offered tepid support for some of Biden’s moves, even as they have painted his actions as weak, late and insufficient.
The White House has shown a willingness to hit back at the GOP.
Last week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki
But there has been scant mention of Trump.
Behind the scenes, Democrats have been saying the White House needs to do more to go on the offensive, particularly as the midterm elections draw closer and Republicans have stepped up the attacks on Biden’s perceived strength.
American Bridge, a liberal super PAC, has released a new Ukrainian language ad in battleground states with large Ukrainian American populations that play up Trump’s praise of Putin. The ads signal the damage that some Democrats think can be made on Trump and the GOP electorally by highlighting Trump’s past handling of Russia and Ukraine.
“We need to remember how much Trump undermined Ukraine’s stability in the region and welcomed the advances of Vladimir Putin into America’s election system as well as contributing to destabilizing the region,” said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist and director of Hunter College’s public policy program.
“This isn’t the time to take a passive approach,” said another Democratic strategist, who asked to speak anonymously to offer more candid criticism. “Every day, they need to be out there reminding people what we stand for and what Republicans stand for.”
Smikle said that the White House should do more to remind the public of Trump’s behavior with Russia, but acknowledged one reason why the administration may be reluctant to do so.
“There is sometimes this sort of unwritten rule that you don’t blame the prior administration too directly for the current state of affairs,” Smikle said.
Psaki did address Trump’s recent comments calling Putin a “genius” when asked about them during a briefing last month before Russia’s Ukraine invasion.
“Well, as a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy,” Psaki said at the time. “So, there’s a bit of a different tactic, a bit of a different approach. And that’s probably why President Biden, and not his predecessor, was able to rally the world and the global community in taking steps against Russia’s aggression.”
Biden also dismissed Trump’s claims about Putin being a “genius” during an interview with a progressive host in February, but otherwise has not been mentioning the former president.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain
Republicans have been forced to grapple with Trump’s recent comments about Putin and some have confronted questions about their stance on his impeachment in light of renewed focus on aid to Ukraine.
“It was obviously not a perfect phone call, there was a lot wrong with it, but ultimately the aid did get to Ukraine at that point,” Sen. Ben Sasse
With no sign of the war letting up anytime soon, Trump and his “America First” foreign policy are likely to continue to hang over the conversation about how to address the ongoing crisis.
Some strategists say the White House is best served leaving the former President out of the mix.
“Just like dealing with former President Trump, it’s somewhat tricky. You can’t afford to engage in a race to the bottom but you have to defend yourself and point out the hypocrisy,” said Democratic strategist Jim Manley, who served as a senior aide to the late majority leader Harry Reid
At the same time, Manley said that the White House shouldn’t go on offense with the former president.
“It makes more sense to go after a sitting senator to highlight the fact that his party is spiraling out of control,” Manley continued, saying Psaki “played it exactly right last week” with Cotton.
“You can’t spend your whole time going after these guys because you’re going to spend all your time in the crazy zone but you have to go after them when you can.”
Read More:White House avoids Trump attacks on Russia-Ukraine
2022-03-24 10:00:06