‘Sleepy Joe?’ Trump struggles to stick a label to ‘Teflon Biden’

By Liz Goodwin Globe Staff,Updated July 11, 2020, 2:39 p.m.

Biden has also benefited from maintaining a relatively low profile, as coronavirus absorbed the country’s attention and also limited his ability to make public appearances for several months. Although Biden often criticizes Trump in speeches or at fund-raisers, he rarely gets into a protracted back-and-forth with the president.

In May and June, the Trump campaign attempted to make Biden’s low-key campaign an issue, mocking the former vice president’s decision to follow Delaware’s stay-at-home order, repeatedly taunting him as “Hidin’ Biden,” keeping a count of how many days he’d gone without holding a press conference, and challenging him to agree to more than the standard three presidential debates in the fall. The president also mocked Biden for wearing a mask, despite his own top health officials’ advice that masks help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“Attacking Biden for doing what most Americans are doing is never going to be super effective,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and former aide to Marco Rubio’s 2012 presidential run. “If anything, Biden’s message is that he may not be flashy but he’s responsible. Trump attacking him for putting responsibility ahead of politics only helps Biden’s image.”

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