President Joe Biden is scheduled to ramp up his reelection campaign this week amid bombshell whistleblower allegations about a federal probe into the president’s son, Hunter.
Biden has three campaign receptions scheduled: Tuesday in Chevy Chase, Maryland; Wednesday in Chicago; and Thursday in New York City. The president has done five other campaign receptions since he announced his bid for reelection on April 25 – four of which were in a two-day stretch last week in California.
The spike in campaign events comes amid whistleblower allegations that Biden’s Justice Department limited aspects of its investigation into Hunter Biden. One specific allegation is that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf ‘interjected’ and said she did not want to investigate the identity of the ‘big guy’ Hunter Biden referred to in texts as a recipient of a percentage of one of his Chinese business deals.
A WhatsApp message from Hunter revealed by the whistleblower showed the son told a Chinese business associate, ‘I am sitting here with my father’ and that ‘you will regret not following my direction.’
Biden has consistently denied any involvement in his son’s business deals.
Giancarlo Sopo, a GOP consultant, said Biden’s sudden focus on his campaign is a response to his weak polling numbers amid the news on his son, who last week agreed to a plea deal that will likely see him dodge prison time on federal tax and gun charges.
The elder Biden is facing an approval rating of 42% and disapproval rating of 53%, according to a RealClearPolitics aggregation.
‘Biden is ramping up his reelection campaign this early because his team is clearly troubled by his poll numbers cratering – particularly among independents and minorities – amid a growing corruption scandal,’ Sopo told Fox News Digital. ‘His team also has to be concerned that so many people are openly questioning if Democrats will ditch him for [former first lady] Michelle Obama or [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom next year, and this is their way of throwing cold water on that speculation.’
Biden is scheduled to deliver three speeches this week: Monday on infrastructure with Vice President Harris; Wednesday on ‘Bidenomics’; and Friday on lowering costs for consumers.
Brad Bannon, a Democrat consultant, said Biden’s spike in campaign and speeches is likely for a few reasons: Congress is out of session the next two weeks; Republicans are already on the campaign trail; and there’s an internal push to better promote their agenda.
‘I think they realize they have a tough election ahead of them and I think there’s a feeling within the administration that they haven’t done a very good job of selling their accomplishments,’ Bannon told Fox News Digital. ‘I don’t think Americans realize the accomplishments of the administration. The closer you get to November 2024, the more you’ll see him out there.’