President Joe Biden was asked recently whether he believed the indictment against former President Donald Trump was “politically divisive.” Biden didn’t answer. He only smiled and laughed.
That’s not really news, despite Newsweek’s best efforts (Biden Laughs When Asked if Trump Indictment Is ‘Politically Divisive’). Although, Biden’s sustained silence on Trump’s indictment is perhaps more notable.
Biden has stayed silent on Trump indictment
If Biden were going to weigh-in on Trump’s legal situation, yesterday would have been an opportune time; Trump was arraigned.
“Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records stemming from a $130,000 payment made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign,” Newsweek reported. “The hush money paid by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, is tied to an alleged affair between Daniels and Trump – making Trump the first sitting or former U.S. president to be charged in a criminal investigation.”
Trump of course has weighed-in –denying the affair, maintaining his innocence, and “accusing prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated witch hunt aimed at weakening his 2024 presidential bid.”
Biden, meanwhile, hasn’t offered an opinion on Trump’s indictment – although he had an opportunity on Tuesday, during a meeting with the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, when a reporter asked Biden if the charges against Trump were politically divisive.
“Is the indictment of your predecessor politically divisive,” the reporter asked.
“Biden remained silent, declining to answer,” Newsweek reported. “Instead, he smiled and laughed as the group of reporters was escorted out of the closed-door meeting, following his opening remarks.” (In related news, Biden ate breakfast Wednesday morning, yawned, and in one dramatic moment, sneezed…)
Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, also declined to comment on Trump’s indictment. Instead, Jean-Pierre cited “cited longstanding policy against commenting on the open investigation.”
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Jean-Pierre said. “It is an ongoing case, and I’ve been very clear about that. We’ve been prudent on that – not commenting on ongoing cases – and we’re going to stick to that.” Jean-Pierre also said that Trump’s arraignment was not a “focus” for Biden. “The president is going to focus on the American people, like he does every day. This is not something that is a focus for him. He is going to focus on things like making sure that we continue to lower prices for the American people.”
Fair enough. I’m not going to criticize the policy of not obsessing over Trump, although I suspect behind closed doors the Biden administration is beginning to obsess over Trump on account of Trump emerging as the GOP’s frontrunner candidate for 2024 (and it should also be pointed out that Biden was elected through the strategy of obsessing over Trump in the 2020 election – an election which was essentially a referendum on Trump).
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Actually, I appreciate that Biden is staying above the fray on Trump’s indictment. It’s a low-hanging fruit that many politicians would be tempted to pluck. Everyone else (me included) has plenty to say about Trump’s indictment; there’s no shortage of commentary. And if Biden were to speak, his inputs would obviously be from the angle of a political opponent – which is an angle that would be fairly redundant with the output of the mainstream liberal media outlets.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
