The Atlantic

The Utter Futility of Biden’s China Rhetoric

The Democratic candidate tries to out-hawk Trump, but trying to beat Republicans at their own game is pointless—even dangerous.
Source: Lintao Zhang / AP

If he wants to attack Donald Trump’s response to COVID-19, Joe Biden has an embarrassment of options. The presumptive Democratic nominee could slam Trump for ignoring his own advisers’ warnings about the potential severity of the virus. Biden could skewer the president for his administration’s inability to develop a coronavirus test. He could blast the Trump administration for failing to adequately stockpile personal protective equipment. He could condemn the large quantities of misinformation that Trump has propagated about the disease.

For the moment, however, Biden has chosen a different angle: He’s attacking Trump for knuckling under to Beijing. Yesterday, the Biden campaign —filled with menacing images of Chinese soldiers—claiming that “Trump rolled over for the Chinese.” It follows another , paid for by the pro-Biden super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, depicting the incumbent as a stooge for, the Biden adviser Antony Blinken that “the president praised China and President Xi more than 15 times.”

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