Sanders adviser cautions Biden against trying to 'outhawk the GOP' on China

(Image credit: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

published 23 June 2020

For the first time since 1960, China could play a leading role in the 2020 presidential election, Ben Jacobs writes for New York magazine. Polls show Americans have increasingly viewed Beijing's government in an unfavorable light, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But there's a sense among Democrats that their candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, should leave the more bellicose rhetoric to President Trump.

Matt Duss, a senior foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), told New York that trying to "out nationalize and outhawk the GOP is a race to the bottom. You are not going to be a more ridiculous hawk than Ted Cruz or Donald Trump because they will always double down."

New York also obtained modeling from top Republican data firm WPA Intelligence, which indicates taking a tougher stance on China could be a hit or miss strategy in some key Midwestern swing states. In Michigan, for example, 16 percent of voters would apparently respond well to such a message, but 12 percent would potentially scatter. In Pennsylvania, the numbers are even tighter at 29 and 28 percent, respectively. So while it's probably unwise for the Biden campaign to ignore Beijing, they may want to save criticism for the right spots. Read more at New York.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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