Given the rancor between the current president and his predecessor, Joe Biden may be tempted to celebrate if Donald Trump becomes the first former president to get slapped with an indictment.
Biden could certainly high-five First Lady Jill Biden in private. But in public, there are myriad reasons why Democrats hope Biden will play this unprecedented event in about as boring a way as possible.
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If Trump is indicted, Biden undoubtedly will be asked for a response in every interaction he has with reporters. He should quickly remind people of his decision to stay out of investigations and not get into specifics, said Matt Lehrich, a former Obama White House spokesperson who founded Be Clear Communications. Then he can draw an "implicit contrast," just by doing the work of being president.
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"In doing that, it sort of reinforces this return to normalcy that's been such a core part of his message that people like about him," Lehrich said.
Trump's likely GOP primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, on Monday weighed in on the New York case with a minor dig at Trump, tweaking him for his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels while also criticizing the investigation. DeSantis' political calculus, however, is "totally different" from Biden's, Lehrich said.
DeSantis doesn't care about separating politics from law enforcement, Lehrich said, and his challenge is trying to court the MAGA base while running against Trump. "He has no choice but to keep kowtowing," he said.
Meanwhile, a president opining on a prosecution can interfere with it, Lehrich said.
"It can prejudice a jury against a defendant or give the defense an argument that they are being persecuted," he said. "And in this case, it could also play into Trump's bogus victim routine."
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