After the Republican convention, Joe Biden’s strategists began hearing from worried Democrats who said President Donald Trump’s focus on a “law and order” message, coupled with images of violence in cities, threatened Biden’s standing, particularly among White voters in the industrial Midwest. Over the past few days, Biden has reoriented his campaign, reports the Washington Post He delivered a forceful anti-Trump speech in Pittsburgh and began giving newfound attention to Minnesota, a state Democrats haven’t lost in nearly 50 years. His campaign is eyeing trips to Wisconsin and Michigan. The unrest in Kenosha and Portland appeared to have caught the campaign off-guard. Aides say Biden’s nationally televised speech on Monday reset their effort. The aim was to reaffirm Biden’s objections to violence and looting while redefining the safety of Americans as freedom not only from urban clashes but also from the coronavirus pandemic and economic turmoil.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Biden friend, said, “What we were afraid of is moderates saying, ‘I hate Donald Trump, but I need to be safe. I have to hold my nose and vote for him’ ” Trump’s campaign advisers could hardly contain their glee that Biden was spending resources in Minnesota, which Republicans haven’t carried since 1972. Democrats in Minnesota have tracked a steady erosion in popular support for the Black Lives Matter movement and police overhauls since early summer, attributing the decline to a backlash over protesters’ calls to “defund the police.” Biden unveiled a new television ad Tuesday that packages portions of his speech Monday. The ad — part of a $45 million one-week television and digital purchase that is by far the campaign’s largest to date — is the first time Biden has put this pushback on issues of crime and public safety into a major paid advertising program, the New York Times reports.