From the moment the whistle-blower’s story about the U.S. President asking the Ukraine’s president to dig dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden broke, the former V.P. was put in a box. With the telling of the story, the word “corruption” appeared in connection with the Bidens. “Corruption” and “Biden” are words twinned deliberately by Donald Trump, who drives home the point repeatedly. But, more insidious is the news media’s endless repetition of the charge, further embedding it into the public consciousness. A new narrative appears: “Biden and his son are corrupt, and they are trying to cover it up.”
Wow. That turnabout would be audacious enough on its own, but when the media repeats it enough, even the most crackpot conspiracy theory will likely be remembered.
No amount of denying this story will ever break this perception. Even Biden’s attempt to associate Trump with corruption just reinforces this idea that “there must be something to it because Biden is talking about corruption.” Denial only makes it worse. I give credit to Biden for not repeating the lie himself, but there are other actors. The best advice I can offer is to stop talking about it. The media and the Democrats, too.
Answer direct questions if you need to but move on without ever using the “C” word. Try to reframe your critique of Trump to be more in terms of lying to the American people – remind them that he’s someone who cannot be trusted and who is endangering Americans’ health and livelihoods. Stay focused on what works for you. I only hope the damage to Biden’s image as an upstanding leader isn’t permanent.