The Joe Biden presidential campaign is trying to brand political rival Donald Trump as “Broke Don,” using the nickname strategy that has become core to Trump’s political playbook.
Knewz.com has learned that the campaign wrote in a fundraiser email, “Not a Winning Campaign: Broke Don Hides in Basement.”
The message went on to say, “Trump can’t raise money, isn’t campaigning, and is letting convicts and conspiracy theorists run his campaign,” according to The Hill.
The nickname was meant to mock the Republican nominee’s paltry fundraising efforts. The Trump campaign raised $10.9 million in February, and his joint fundraising committee raised $11 million, bringing the total cash on hand to $42 million.
That number significantly lags the $53 million raised by the Biden campaign last month and the $155 million it has in its coffers.
Trump’s financial situation is dire, but he may be receiving a much-needed reprieve.
The former president is facing more than US$500 million in penalties after losing two civil cases in New York, and reports from earlier this week suggest he cannot secure financing to pay the bond for his $464 million civil fraud payment.
If he does not cover that bond, the court could freeze Trump’s bank accounts, begin charging his building tenants rent, or force Trump to unseal his tax returns, another long-standing point of political frustration.
On Friday, Trump’s social media company Truth Social received the green light to go public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC deal. Digital World Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded acquisition group, approved the purchase of Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Truth Social. Trump, who owns 79% of the social media company, could receive a nearly $3 billion payout from the deal.
Trump has become famous during his political career for nicknaming his opposition, and the insult “Sleepy Joe” Biden has been particularly sticky.
The most famous of his name-callings is the “Crooked Hillary” moniker from the 2016 election, referencing his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton. He also notably coined “Lying” Ted Cruz and referred to Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” after the senator released DNA evidence that suggested she had trace amounts of Native American heritage.
Most recently, “Meatball Ron” became a strange label for Ron DeSantis, who lost to Trump in the Republican primary.
Critics of the Biden administration’s decision to dub Trump “Broke Don” say he is trying to “out-Trump Trump,” a move that has proven ineffective over the years.
Bruce Mehlman, a former official under President George W. Bush, used a famous political truism in an interview with The Hill: “Never wrestle with a pig because you’ll both get dirty, and the pig likes it,” he said.
Some supporters have called the nickname “refreshing” and argue that the strategy of rising above Trump’s bullying is ineffective.
Biden also joked at a campaign rally that he was approached by a desperate man struggling to get out from under his debt. “I had to say, ‘I am sorry, Donald. I can’t help you,’” the president quipped.