(NewsNation) — “Rule number one in politics: When your opponent is self-destructing, get out of their way,” says Marc Lotter, a former special assistant to then-President Donald Trump. “And he’s letting Biden self-destruct,” Lotter added, referring to Trump’s low profile this week.
While he sat for several radio interviews over the weekend and has been active on his Truth Social site, Trump has no public events on his schedule this week. Surrogates such as Lotter, however, have been quite vocal.
“Joe Biden was losing this election before the debate. He was losing in the national polls; he was losing in all of the swing states,” he said during a Wednesday appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance.”
Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella, who appeared with Lotter, said Biden isn’t going anywhere for the moment.
“Right now, he is the candidate. Right now, he is the Democratic nominee. Right now, he is the sitting U.S. president. And so, you must act that way — up until the point where he doesn’t. Then the next chapter of this comes into play,” Bardella said.
But he also concedes that an upcoming interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos is very important.
“It could make or break this campaign. If it does not go well, come Monday and Tuesday the dam will break completely, and it’ll effectively be over.”
At the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre again pushed back on calls for Biden to withdraw from the race.
“The president is moving forward, he’s moving forward as being president, he’s moving forward with his campaign — as his campaign has been very, very clear about that,” she said.
“The president was very clear that he is in this to win this,” said Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., who was among several Democratic governors meeting with Biden Wednesday evening in the White House.
And in a fundraising email sent Wednesday, Biden used strong, unambiguous words, saying, “Let me be clear: I’m running.”
“I’m the Democratic Party’s nominee. No one is pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race top the end and WE are going to win this election.”