Democracy Dies in Darkness

OpinionThe Biden campaign’s theory of the case

The president’s top strategists see only one way to get past his nightmarish debate performance.

By Karen Tumulty

Associate editor and columnist|

July 10, 2024 at 5:52 p.m. EDT

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at the White House on July 7. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post)

5 min

WILMINGTON, Del. — Top strategists at President Biden’s reelection headquarters here believe there is only one way to put the nightmare of his debate performance behind them.

Looking ahead, “this has to be about Trump,” deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty told me when I visited the operation, which is housed in a modern high-rise office building downtown. The walls are festooned with “Dark Brandon” images.

Opinion by Karen Tumulty

Karen Tumulty is an associate editor and columnist covering national politics. She joined The Post in 2010 from Time magazine and has also worked at the Los Angeles Times.Twitter

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