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President Joe Biden<\/strong>\u2019s hands-off attitude to his chief rival\u2019s four criminal indictments is an approach that some top Democrats feel is a potential missed opportunity, NBC News reported<\/a> Sunday.<\/p>\n The president has rarely acknowledged the sprawling criminal cases that are currently ensnaring his chief 2024 rival, and avoids mentioning Trump even in conversations with donors. In early August, both the White House and the Biden campaign declined to comment on Trump\u2019s indictment on federal charges relating to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. The day after Trump was arrested in Georgia a few weeks later, the Biden campaign released<\/a> an ad in battleground states that was exclusively focused on abortion.<\/p>\n Some Democrats think Biden should more explicitly engage in the former president’s legal issues, especially with Trump and Biden virtually tied<\/a> in the polls and Trump attacking him at every turn. \u201cWhat Trump has done is so egregious, so beyond the pale that I think we all have to take a very firm and aggressive and hostile stand against him,\u201d former Ohio Democratic Representative Tim Ryan<\/strong> told NBC. \u201cThere needs to be a unifying approach here.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha<\/strong>, who served as a senior aide on Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders<\/strong>\u2019 2020 presidential campaign, praised the president\u2019s messaging strategy but admitted that Biden and his aides are \u201cbanking on Trump making his own contrast\u201d with the current president.<\/p>\n There\u2019s certainly evidence supporting Biden\u2019s decision to avoid the appearance of undue influence on the Justice Department by remaining silent on the cases. According to a Politico Magazine\/IPSOS poll<\/a> from earlier this month, a majority of Americans\u2014including two-thirds of independents\u2014think the DOJ\u2019s indictment was based on \u201ca fair evaluation of the evidence and the law.\u201d More voters believe the Trump administration weaponized the DOJ than the Biden administration, and Trump\u2019s conduct in criminal cases is rated far less favorably by voters than that of Biden and DOJ officials.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a train wreck is occurring, you don\u2019t need someone standing off to the side saying, \u2018Look at that train wreck.\u2019 It\u2019s obvious,\u201d said Democratic strategist Tom Bonier<\/strong>. Focusing on policy issues and attacking \u201cRepublican extremists\u201d is a better strategy than wading into the minutiae of Trump\u2019s legal cases, he said.<\/p>\n Biden aides say that a core element of the president\u2019s strategy this year is to focus on convincing voters of the strength of his economy, as polls show voter perceptions remaining stubbornly low on the issue. On Sunday, Biden published<\/a> an op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel<\/em> touting his economic achievements. \u201cBidenomics is working in Wisconsin,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe’re investing in American workers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s being present this year. He\u2019s talking about his accomplishments and his vision,\u201d a Biden adviser said. \u201cThat\u2019s the main focus.\u201d The campaign\u2019s plan, according to NBC, is to \u201ctake this approach through 2023, then lean in more to being a candidate in 2024.\u201d It\u2019s a strategy that would mirror the approach taken by former president Barack Obama<\/strong>\u2019s reelection campaign in 2012.<\/p>\n There will, however, be somewhat of a messaging shift after Labor Day, according to one presidential advisor. But that doesn\u2019t mean Biden will begin talking more about the Trump prosecutions. A Democrat close to his campaign told<\/a> Politico Playbook Sunday not to expect \u201cchanges on how we [don\u2019t] speak about legal issues.\u201d Instead, Biden is likely to lean into the message of \u201cdefending democracy\u201d\u2014a central plank of his campaign launch video<\/a>, which opened with footage of the January 6th attack but did not mention Trump by name.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s next legal challenge will come in October, when the former president and his sons Eric and Don Jr. are expected to stand trial<\/a> for alleged civil fraud in New York. The state\u2019s Attorney General Letitia James<\/strong> is seeking a $250 million judgment and says the family created false valuations of assets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n