Joe Biden would really rather not talk about the fight over the open Supreme Court seat.
The former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee made obligatory statements addressing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death but is leaning away from the focus of the election that is shifting to a process that he is powerless to stop: President Trump’s move to push through a replacement for Ginsburg as soon as possible, dramatically changing the ideological bend of the Supreme Court.
But that’s not what Biden focused on in a Monday speech from Wisconsin, during which he talked about the United States passing 200,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths. In fact, he did not mention the passing of Ginsburg or the Supreme Court at all. On Tuesday, he made no public appearances.
The high-stakes environment, in theory, provides an opportunity for Biden to harness the energy of outraged voters and donors.
“The situation, as it stands now, will fire up the Democratic base significantly because they can argue that Sen. [Mitch] McConnell went against what he did and said in 2016 when President Obama attempted to appoint [Merrick] Garland to fill the vacancy left after [Justice Antonin] Scalia passed away,” said Chad Kinsella, a political science professor at Ball State University. “Recent fundraising by Democrats would show that all of this has pushed their base to be more active, as many have made significant donations to Democrats and their candidates in the last couple of days since Ginsburg’s passing.”
Donors set a record for number of dollars raised through ActBlue, a company that processes donations for Democratic candidates and causes, in the 24 hours following news of Ginsburg’s death: $91 million.
“Biden can use the current situation to his advantage by pointing out hypocrisy by Republicans, particularly Sen. McConnell, and by keeping with attack the President Trump plays by his own set of rules regardless of what the ‘the people’ want,” Kinsella said.
However, the former vice president is unwilling to lean into the controversy.
News of Ginsburg’s death broke Friday evening when Biden was on a flight from a campaign stop in Minnesota to his home in Delaware. After landing, he delivered brief remarks and called for Ginsburg’s replacement to be nominated by the winner of the Nov. 3 election.
The next day, his campaign called a lid, indicating that he would make no public appearances for the rest of the day, before 9 a.m., surprising some observers who thought that he might take an opportunity to join those mourning Ginsburg outside the Supreme Court that day in a gesture that could please Democrats.
He addressed the issue of the open seat in a Sunday speech, urging moderate Republican Senators to not support the process while there is an election underway.
But despite calls from some Democrats to release a list of potential Supreme Court picks as Trump has, which could potentially energize voters, Biden said he would not do so.
And he is staying away from fiery calls from some Democrats to expand and pack the Supreme Court next year if Republicans quickly push through a Trump nominee before the election. Biden said last year he opposed court expansion. He refused to clarify his court-packing stance in a Monday interview. “It will shift all the focus. That’s what [Trump] wants,” Biden said.
Biden’s strategy, though, could serve to both keep his persona as a stable alternative to Trump and prevent fueling Republican enthusiasm on the Supreme Court issue.
“I do not think Biden will take a clear stance on this before the election as it may fire up the Republican base or alienate those who are leery about too much infringement upon the courts,” Kinsella said, referring to court expansion.
