He is 80 years old. She has a demanding day job. And he was never the world’s most electrifying activist to begin with. To win re-election, President Joe Biden is planning to harness a host of friends and allies to go where he can’t, say what he doesn’t want to, and be what he will never be.
Campaign surrogates are nothing new. William McKinley deployed 1,400 while campaigning for the White House in 1896 while waving primarily to his supporters from the front porch of his Ohio home.
But Biden’s fledgling re-election campaign has invested early, even before it had a headquarters and before former President Barack Obama did in 2012, in what veteran operatives say is an unusually robust operation to harness the star power of the Democratic Party, most of whom reside outside of the White House.
“President Biden, as he has shown this week, is very busy being president,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a campaign co-chairman who was one of several surrogates who made themselves available to news programmers for wire and others. journalists while Biden was abroad last week. «Our president has assembled a group that includes some truly promising up-and-coming leaders from across the country.»
At their best, campaign surrogates are a win-win: the campaign gains force multipliers, validators, and access to their grassroots networks. Meanwhile, the substitutes get some big tickets, some attention, and some chips to cash in.
But surrogates also have their own interests and propensities and, a well documented trend to go off script. And an overreliance on them could open Biden up to criticism that he’s resuming the so-called «basement campaign» of 2020 because he can’t or won’t pull off the coup himself. (Former President Donald Trump frequently mocked Biden for not campaigning anymore.)
“Part of a re-election campaign means that the president is actively ruling as president. Thats the reality. So I think smartly dealing with reality means you have to tap into the networks and other voices in the party,» said a source familiar with campaign planning, who remained anonymous to discuss the inner workings.
The campaign said it has already coordinated more than 185 interviews across a wide range of national and local outlets, in both English and Spanish, a wide-ranging, multi-platform approach they hope will help push the message forward in a fractured media landscape.
The campaign’s top surrogates, its six co-chairs and its 50-member National Advisory Board, plus Vice President Kamala Harris, were chosen not just because of their loyalty, stature or political needs, but because they all agreed to be available and get the job done. . .
“We anticipate being very active,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., the 26-year-old progressive freshman who is a rising star on the left. “It’s definitely more than a list of 50 names. I think the president really wants to put together a list of people who are ready to work.»
That will mean showing up at fundraisers and in person, participating in media interviews, posting on social media, and tapping into your own local support networks. Administration officials and many others will also be included, such as when Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared at a recent Biden fundraiser in New York.
Jim Messina, who ran Obama’s re-election campaign, said surrogates are critical to fundraising efforts and as external validators for an electorate increasingly cynical about politics. And the sheer number of outlets and social media platforms these days means the campaign needs a lot of help to reach everyone, he said.
“What is true, and this was not true 10 years ago, is that you can’t just recycle regular talking points. That won’t go viral, it won’t break through. So you need people who can speak with their own voice,” Messina said. “Will it always work? No. There will be times when someone says something that you wish they hadn’t said it exactly that way, of course. But overall, this will be more real and authentic.»
Frost is one of several members of Biden’s advisory board who hail from a different ideological wing of the party or have even criticized it at times, along with household names like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Mass. Calif. .
“I still think it’s our best bet in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin to win those states,” Khanna, who has been traveling to Iowa and New Hampshire while contemplating a potential future presidential run, said of Biden on NBC News. Meet the Press» last month.
Also on the list are the two Democratic officials who appeared closest to considering a primary challenge to Biden last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, according to a report. Lyndon Johnson style philosophy of keeping friends enemies close. The list also includes potential future presidential candidates, such as governors. Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan.
“He’s making a very concerted effort to appeal to everyone,” said Chris Huntley, a speechwriter and Democratic strategist. «There’s nothing wrong with assembling the surrogate Avengers, who have different powers and different abilities… showing the present and the future of our group.»
Four years ago, Republicans derided and Democrats worried about Biden’s pandemic-era «basement campaign,» when the candidate largely eschewed in-person events in favor of Zoom meetings and messaging. of recorded video. And he would hardly be the first sitting president to wage a so-called «Rose Garden campaign» that focuses more on ruling from the White House than a swing state.
Of course, the low-profile Biden campaign won in 2020 and most presidents get re-elected, with the most recent exception, Trump, being the longest-campaigned incumbent.
Biden’s heavy reliance on surrogates is sure to face similar criticism this time around, especially as Trump and other conservatives argue that Biden lacks the physical and mental stamina for the job.
But allies say the president should try to stay in the campaign fray and leave the tougher job of responding to Trump and other Republicans to them.
«I think you’ll see a real team effort to support the president and get his message out to the world, so it’s not all up to him,» Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul and Democratic megadonor who is also campaign co-chair Biden said in an interview. “I think that’s the most important thing he can do in terms of his re-election bid: do what he’s been doing. Unlike the person who last occupied the White House.»
Still, relying on others to do the job for you has its limitations, underscored this month when New York City Mayor Eric Adams was not added to Biden’s advisory committee after criticizing the handling of migrants by the White House, though the campaign says it remains a supporter and still sees itself as a surrogate.
And surrogates, especially political ones, sometimes come with their own parochial demands. For example, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams told the Biden campaign in 2020 that she would only agree to be a surrogate if they agreed to spend millions trying to win her state. according to his former campaign manager.
Frost said he has been pushing to make sure Florida remains a campaign priority even as some Democrats say Biden should scrap the extremely expensive state that has sided with Republicans in recent years. “If you look at the numbers, Florida is a state you don’t want to give up on,” she said. “I have made that case and many people have reassured me.”
He’s happy for the chance to make that case, even if it means constantly talking about Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who just entered the presidential race. “I already talk about DeSantis every day and I anticipate that will continue,” Frost said.