April 21, 2020

"Yesterday, the Biden campaign unveiled an ad—filled with menacing images of Chinese soldiers—claiming that 'Trump rolled over for the Chinese.'"

"It follows another spot, paid for by the pro-Biden super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, depicting the incumbent as a stooge for Beijing. 'Everyone knew they lied about the virus—China,' a narrator declares, against the backdrop of a fluttering Chinese flag. 'President Trump gave China his trust.' On Friday, the Biden adviser Antony Blinken told reporters that 'the president praised China and President Xi more than 15 times.'... Trump has made China the primary scapegoat for his failures. His supporters are running ads under the hashtag #BeijingBiden. So Biden and his strategists are meeting fire with fire. They’re answering the charge that the former vice president is soft on China by saying that Trump is.... The implication of Biden’s new ad is that... Biden would boss the Chinese around. This is a jingoistic fantasy. China is a rival superpower run by an authoritarian and fiercely nationalistic regime.... In suggesting that Biden could bludgeon China into submission—in a phone call, no less—the Biden campaign is peddling a lie about how public-health cooperation with China actually works.... Were the Biden camp’s anti-China ads a surefire winner with voters, Machiavellians might justify them as a necessary evil. But for Democrats, posturing as more anti-China than the GOP is a poor long-term bet.... [I]n trying to out-jingo the GOP, Democrats will alienate their Millennial activist base.... By attacking Trump for being insufficiently nationalist rather than being insufficiently internationalist, Biden is hastening a geopolitical confrontation that threatens progressive goals..."

From "The Utter Futility of Biden’s China Rhetoric/The Democratic candidate tries to out-hawk Trump, but trying to beat Republicans at their own game is pointless—even dangerous" by Peter Beinart (in The Atlantic).

Here's the ad Beinart is talking about:



For less friendly look into Biden's vulnerability on China, there's this Trump ad from April 9th:



And here's something Trump said on April 18th: "Maybe Sleepy Joe Biden’s gonna win. And if Sleepy Joe Biden wins... China will own the United States."

55 comments:

wendybar said...

So Joe is being a Xenophobe now??

wendybar said...

Everybody knew China lied about the virus....except Joe who would have let them keep on coming in because he wouldn't have been Xenophobic. These people are hilarious!!!

wendybar said...

But then again...Hunter IS still on one of their boards.... Where IS Hunter??

Shouting Thomas said...

Then there’s that $1.6 billion payment to Hunter Biden by the Chinese.

Remarkably, that seems to be the same amount as the Ukraine’s payment to Biden.

I guess the Bidens have an extortion/bribery rate schedule.

Good thing Trump’s tyrannical attempt to focus a light on the Bidens’ scams was obscured by impeachment, or where would we be?

James Pawlak said...

How much did the PRC's Communist Party pay Joe, Hunter & Company to run that ad????

Ann Althouse said...

Sorry I didn't have the right code for the Trump ad. It's fixed now.

The Trump ad brings out the material on Hunter Biden.

Leland said...

This:
Everybody knew China lied about the virus....except Joe who would have let them keep on coming in because he wouldn't have been Xenophobic. These people are hilarious!!!

paminwi said...

Anyone who believes that Biden will dominate China also believes his faculties are at 100%, too!

Ann Althouse said...

Beinart didn't mention Hunter Biden — even as he argued Biden's ad wouldn't work and would backfire!

chuck said...

Biden, not only racist, but imperialist as well. What a guy!

Left Bank of the Charles said...

The xenophobia was twofold - thinking America was fully protected by closing the door to a China and in not closing the door to Europe when they declined to join us in closing the door to China. But if you don’t want to call it xenophobia, just call it false confidence.

Kevin said...

Biden is hastening a geopolitical confrontation that threatens progressive goals..."

Progressive goals aren’t really about America.

It’s why they get upset thinking about making America great.

MayBee said...

I can't wait for the ad where he criticizes Trump for being soft on Iran.

Drago said...

Its interesting to watch dems and LLR's attempt to rewrite recent history this dramatically in real time when so much video is available proving otherwise.

Biden stood up in front of crowds just within the last 6 to 9 months claiming China wasnt even a competitor!

On the other hand, if you pay attention to the usual suspects here at Althouse, why wouldnt the Biden campaign believe they could conjure up and successfully sell whatever historical revision they wanted to their faithful.

Do you have any idea how many dems/LLR's believe Mueller proved collusion?

Before Biden gets pulled out and replaced with Michelle the democrat base will be wandering around proclaiming Slow Joe was the greatest China opponent that ever lived. Just look at what Moron Mika and Scarborough were saying just yesterday!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Biden-hillary are vastly wealthy because of the poor Chinese people who are essentially slaves for our cheap products and mega bucks for corrupt American Democratics and their personal family wealth.

Drago said...

Left Bank of the Charles: "The xenophobia was twofold -"

Why be transparently stupid in just one way when you can be transparently stupid in two ways, like Left Bank.

Kevin said...

Ways to show proof of life for Biden:

1. Video of him talking while holding up today’s newspaper.

2. His campaign launching an ill-advised video about how he’s more anti-China than Trump.

rehajm said...

Credit to Biden's strategists for being awake in class when they were taught the optimal reaction to your opponent making a valid and damaging claim about your candidate is to accuse your candidate's opponent of the same thing. Muddy the waters is how someone once described it...

Kevin said...

Beinart didn't mention Hunter Biden — even as he argued Biden's ad wouldn't work and would backfire!

Unexpectedly!

Kevin said...

Shorter Biden response to Trump ad: I know you are but what am I?

Birches said...

The Biden ad would work, it they hadn't spent the last four years telling us how racist Trump is. Also, the way he says China... it's kind of obvious he doesn't like them.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

LOL

Joe is way out of his depth. And again thus prices shy truth needs to be the theme behind the bad and the rhetoric. Joes Team is trying to sell us a phony story which takes MUCH BETTER advertising to peddle. This ad falls flat. We may see the first 50-state blowout in modern history.

Lurker21 said...

Biden is hastening a geopolitical confrontation that threatens progressive goals...

Wasn't Beinart a neo-liberal at one point and a critic of the progressive left? He probably still is but defines "progressive" in a different way from Sanders and the left. It's most likely more about globalism and liberal elitism than about left populism for him.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Ugh.

“ And again THIS PROVES WHY TRUTH needs to be the theme behind the AD and the rhetoric” NOT “ And again thus prices shy truth needs to be the theme behind the bad and the rhetoric.”

Wince said...

At what point will the Democrats decide it's not worth letting Biden take the rest of his party down with him?

Hopefully after he's ensconced as the nominee.

EdwdLny said...

Joe must have received another check . Despite his obvious mental deterioration he remembers who's paying him.

traditionalguy said...

The old ways are over. No longer can Dems run ads stating Facts from a media propaganda narrative written at Langley for the 4:00AM mockingbird distribution. The internet has become the media listened to by the voters. And Q has seeded a fact base that destroys the old narrative fictions controlling elections. The Dems must now fake the ballot counting to stay in power.

MartyH said...

The upper left corner of the Biden ad says: “Unprepared: Biden for President.” That says it all right there.

Known Unknown said...

Joe Biden held a rally in Philadelphia on March 10.

Lurker21 said...

Joe did say that he chooses truth over facts ...

clint said...

It worked for Clinton.

The Clinton Foundation took hundreds of millions from Russian oil oligarchs close to Putin. The "Reset" of our relationship with Russia was her first big foreign policy push as Secretary of State.

And yet, people became convinced that Donald Trump was the pro-Russian candidate and that Putin wanted Hillary to lose.

Rick said...

But for Democrats, posturing as more anti-China than the GOP is a poor long-term bet...


This is a colossal own goal not just for Dems but specifically for Biden. The implication he's willing to be tough on China when he's helping his kid make millions off them is absurd. His response had to be that they are a trading partner so his corruption can by dismissed as not that big a deal (and by the way anyone concerned is racist).

This is the problem with people who believe they are angels fighting demons. They think everyone shares their vision of themselves and rejects the counter-evidence without even considering it. They constantly make these mistakes because they don't understand reality, which gets worse the longer a candidate has been powerful and therefore insulated from truth. This - and not some psychological need by the public - is why newish politicians do better running for president.

Sebastian said...

"Then there’s that $1.6 billion payment to Hunter Biden by the Chinese."

Hey Joe, has he paid it back yet?

Darrell said...

Biden is asshoe.

robother said...

So, Joe doesn't think Trump is being hard enough on China? Hope he's ready to hold Trump's beer. He just gave Trump cover for pretty much anything up to and including nuking Wuhan.

Ken B said...

So, Farmer is writing Biden's ads now?

Ken B said...

Watch the dates. Trump quotes in the Biden ad are early. In March Biden was calling Trump's responses racist and on 6March the house tried to reverse the travel ban legislatively.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

on top of dementia, he's projecting

rcocean said...

Yes, don't speak badly of our Chi-com masters says The left-wing Atlantic Magazine - that's "Jingoism". Leaving aside that's NOT Jingoism, Biden has to counter Trump attacks somehow, and like all D's Biden knows the offense is the best Defense. Biden's real problem is that Trump it telling the truth. Biden was "soft on the Chi-coms" and wanted to get them the TPP and opposed every attempt to get tough on trade. And of course, his son is up to his eyeballs in Chi-com corruption.

Of course, how many American patriots are left that are D's or Independent? The democrats will vote 90-95% for Biden no matter what. You could post a picture of him giving a blow job to the Chi-com leader and they would still vote for him.

Francisco D said...

I loved the last statement, "All the negative ads in the world cannot change the truth"

George Orwell could not be reached for comment.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

They constantly make these mistakes because they don't understand reality, which gets worse the longer a candidate has been powerful and therefore insulated from truth.

They get this way because they are surrounded by sycophants and are never told that they are spouting bullshit.

Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paul Zrimsek said...

Remember when Trump was a dangerous bomb-thrower because he called the president of Taiwan the president of Taiwan?

MD Greene said...

Yeah, right, as my favorite seven-year-old used to say. I give this latest salvo about 72 hours.

https://alantonelson.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/im-politic-bidens-massive-china-fakery/#respond

Greg the class traitor said...

I congratulate the Biden campaign on totally screwing themselves over

"Willing to take on China" is not a battle where Biden, or the Democrats, can win

It's roughly on the order of a GOP candidate trying to run against a Democrat, and accusing the Democrat of being "soft on the minimum wage". What ever the Rep proposes, the Dem will happily raise them.

Whatever Biden wants to do to be "tough on China", Trump will be happy to take it, and go farther

Josephbleau said...

Biden has someone on staff who is impulsive and poorly supervised. This add was not approved by the Chicoms.

Ray - SoCal said...

Clint - Excellent point about how Trump was painted as a Russian Stooge.

I am amazed how successful that Clinton Dirty Campaign Tactic was.

LA_Bob said...

I thought Biden's ad was pretty good, considering it's the only thing he can do.

Just a Hail Mary pass. His supporters will eat it up, but it won't score with many outside of his supporters.

Biden talking tough to the Chinese. Yeah, that was rich. He's gonna take Xi out in back of the gym and beat him up until the CDC is in China. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Ray - SoCal said...

So Biden is trying to be Tougher on China than Trump?

Whomever wrote this ad recognizes their is now a HUGE amount of anger at China. China's growing power, as they ate our lunch, has been ignored by the US masses. As the Elite were happy to expedite China's growth in power.

Good article about Diane Feinstein's Chinese ties
, as well as explaining how Kissinger could write an entire article about Coronavirus, and not mention China once.

Original Mike said...

This strategy (Trump was soft on China, Biden will be tough) will convince no one who wasn't already going to vote for Biden. It is laughable.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

"'President Trump gave China his trust.' "

Biden didn't give his trust. He sold it.

mikee said...

Biden find it easy to be a macho he-man China-hating warmongering strong American-firster when he can affect exactly zero things with his bullshit posturing. He had 8 years to rein in China under Obama, and let the Chinese instead run rampant with imperial expansionism. He is a day late, a dollar short, and has only two marbles left.

bagoh20 said...

Is Biden going to push China around from his basement? The White House staff will actually be in charge and controlling him by manipulating the Metamucil dose.

Chris Lopes said...

"Biden has someone on staff who is impulsive and poorly supervised."

Unfortunately that person happens to be Hunter's dad.

Michael K said...

We already know who is in the pocket of China. They told us so.

In November of last year, a glittering array of world statesmen gathered in Beijing for Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum. At the top of the list was former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He was worried. With China skeptic President Donald Trump imposing huge tariffs on Chinese goods, the most famous living diplomat was concerned about the future of the United States’ relationship with China’s Communist government. Trump’s actions, said Kissinger, had landed the two sides in “the foothills of a Cold War.”