President Joe Biden performed so badly in Thursday’s debate with President Donald Trump that his most staunch supporters are calling for him to drop out of the presidential race. But if Biden plans to hang on until the November election, he’s going to need a lot of help convincing young people that he’s still up to the job — and online influencers could be just the thing to help him do that.
TechCrunch I spoke with White House Digital Director Christian Tom on Friday, who explained that the White House plans to host a new gathering of internet celebrities in August. It’s important to note that the event will be hosted by the White House and not Joe Biden’s campaign, but it will still be an opportunity for the president to speak about issues that matter to young people.
One of the issues that young people are passionate about is TikTok BanA new poll found that 46% of Americans ages 18-29 are opposed to a ban, while just 29% support it. Pew ResearchCompare this to Americans over 65: only 4% of older Americans oppose the ban, while 71% support it.
The exact date in August has yet to be revealed, but Techcrunch reports that topics will include data privacy, creator pay, artificial intelligence, and mental health. The new report doesn’t explicitly say that Biden will attend the meeting at the White House, but it would be foolish not to.
The president has struggled to reinvigorate his base, with the latest polls showing The New York Times Polls released this week show Biden and Trump are still neck and neck nationally, and last night’s debate performance in Atlanta probably didn’t help Biden win any votes.
Speaking at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, Biden acknowledged his performance in the debate was lackluster.
“Needless to say, I know I’m not young.” Biden told the crowd:“I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t argue as well as I used to. But I know what I know. I know how to tell the truth. I know how to do this job.”
Oddly, the Biden campaign seems to think the shock of the night was when the president said Trump has “the moral fiber of a wild cat,” which Biden’s official account tweeted. on fridayEven though it’s exactly the kind of thing an older person would say.
Whether Biden can bounce back remains to be seen, but it’s obviously important to remember what would happen if he doesn’t beat Trump. The 45th president is a man who tried to stay in office with a violent coup attempt after losing the 2020 election. Trump is a man who has threatened to deport millions of people in a move that mainstream economists say would almost certainly wipe out about 4.5% of the country’s workforce. Destroy the economyTrump is a man who says he will be a dictator from day one in office.
There is also the simple fact that Trump is a convicted felon who is recommended as a top military advisor. Should be executed He was charged with “treason,” and this doesn’t even compare to the extreme racist and fascist nonsense that Trump casually spews every day.
No one knows who will win in November, but now is the time for Democrats to pull out all the stops to make sure Trump never sets foot in the White House again. Inviting online creators is certainly a small gesture, but at this point, anything that helps us avoid reelection is welcome.
