Biden’s Whiplash Messaging: Trump Will Be A Dictator, And Hey, I'm Battling Shrinkflation

Why not focus the campaign solely on Trump’s coup attempt and his vow to rule as a 'dictator'? Experts warn too many Americans might be okay with autocracy.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — My opponent wants to end our democracy, rule as an autocrat … and by the way, did you notice my administration is cracking down on those outrageous airline luggage fees?

Such is the whiplash-inducing messaging from President Joe Biden’s White House and campaign as he seeks reelection, veering from warnings that his coup-attempting opponent would literally end the constitutional republic to boasts about how he is taking on snack food manufacturers who shrink their packages but charge the same price for them.

Often both elements ― the small-ball and the apocalyptic ― are present in the same speech, as they were in December, when Biden spoke before an audience of donors in a living room overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Biden mentioned his expansion of the Affordable Care Act, his work to eliminate lead pipes from homes and the building of a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles and then, minutes later, warned that the United States as we know it could end next year. “I truly believe the future of American democracy is at stake,” he said. “Not a joke.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an authoritarianism researcher at New York University, acknowledged the seeming discordance of emphasizing more mundane issues when the country’s core principles are on the line. “Maybe he fears fatigue in the public,” she said.