Biden Takes Aim at DeSantis
Joe Biden’s back-and-forth with Republicans over entitlements Tuesday night was noteworthy, though not for the rowdy spectacle. It signaled a campaign strategy—and a target. Welcome to the fight, Ron DeSantis.
It was no surprise Mr. Biden dropped into his State of the Union monologue the false claim that the GOP plans to cut Medicare and Social Security. Sen. Rick Scott gave Democrats that opening before the midterms when he released an agenda featuring the unradical proposal that Congress should occasionally review the programs it funds. The White House has been beating the topic ever since, though without much traction.
Until now. Mr. Biden couldn’t resist the chance to use a national address to repeat his warning that Republicans are greasing granny’s wheelchair and hunting for high cliffs. He bet he could goad GOP members into a response, and he bet right. Their angry protests assisted the White House in turning its entitlement rubbish into the national conversation. On cue, it rolled out a “fact sheet” detailing Republicans’ “many proposals to cut Social Security and Medicare.” On cue, the media regurgitated this into wild claims that the GOP is intent on sabotaging its most reliable voting bloc.
Next stop, Florida. The president on Thursday rolled into Tampa—land of senior citizens—where Mr. Biden in a speech vowed to become a “nightmare” to any Republican who dared try impose (fictional) entitlement cuts on the nation. He waved the Scott plan in the air as he spoke, but his words were directed at a guy he worries about far more: Mr. DeSantis.
Mr. Biden is warning Mr. DeSantis that he’ll pummel him with this history should he run. The White House is OK with Donald Trump as the GOP nominee—Mr. Biden beat that guy before. But Mr. DeSantis is potentially a bigger problem, especially as Mr. Biden’s dismal record provides the governor plenty of ammunition. The president sees in entitlements a way to go on offense, to rough up Mr. DeSantis in the GOP primary, or if it comes to it, a general.
In this Mr. Biden has a fascinating wingman—Donald Trump himself. Mr. Trump’s opposition to entitlement reform isn’t new, but he’s now doubling down—seeing it as a way to distinguish himself in a primary field and to hobble Mr. DeSantis or others. He recently warned House Republicans not to touch “a single penny” of entitlements in their debt-ceiling discussions and rolled out an old video of Mr. DeSantis praising Mr. Ryan.
How will Republicans respond? Entitlements are in desperate need of reform, and no serious conservative can pretend otherwise. Yet Speaker Kevin McCarthy was wise to reject Mr. Biden’s bait, to say “Social Security and Medicare are off the table” in negotiations over spending cuts. Republicans have only the House, and Mr. McCarthy’s four-vote majority has headaches enough without taking on the policy problem of the ages.
Far better for Republicans to point out that the only politician currently cutting an entitlement is Mr. Biden—his administration recently announcing a cut to the popular Medicare Advantage program.
Mr. DeSantis is a different question. For all the press’s crowing about Mr. Biden’s “potent” new issue, and for all Mr. Trump’s maneuvering, the Florida governor is far less vulnerable than suggested. The Ryan budgets were nonbinding—the reforms, sadly, never came to fruition. Most of the GOP caucus voted for them and it didn’t stop them from getting re-elected. Mitt Romney (with Mr. Ryan as running mate) didn’t lose 2012 on entitlements; they lost it because Mr. Romney failed to defend his business record. Americans know there is a need for reform and have put into office plenty of Republicans who support change.
A big part of the DeSantis brand is his claim to face up to problems, and there’s no reason for him to run from his record. He has the opportunity to be straight with the public on the challenge, clarify his positions, and then turn the tables on the Biden-Trump catcalls.
Are the dynamic duo good with the coming benefit cut—23% or more—that Social Security will have to enforce in just a decade? How do they justify a Medicare system that every year features fewer capable doctors and less access to breakthrough cures and treatments?
Mr. Biden will only get as much purchase from this issue as Republicans allow. The GOP needs to play it straight and smart, and remember that voters aren’t as dumb as the press thinks they are.