Biden learns from Trump

President Joe Biden is taking a page out of the populist gameplan of former President Donald Trump with his decision to endorse tax credits for first-time homeowners. In his recent State of the Union (SOU) address, Biden did not mention as much of a policy agenda for his final months in office as he laid out one for the next four years. This, alongside a general ideological scaffolding to contrast with his “predecessor’s.” 

One of the most prominent examples of this was Biden’s plan on how to make housing more affordable during a time where it is historically not that. Prior to the SOU, the White House released a fact sheet outlining how Biden will make this happen: 

“During his SOU Address, President Biden will call on Congressional Republicans to end years of inaction and pass legislation to lower costs by providing a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and people who sell their starter homes; build and renovate more than 2 million homes; and lower rental costs.”

The wording of this is deliberate and exacting and represents the dichotomous relationship that populists like Trump try to instill within the American public. First, the Biden administration is directly identifying Congressional Republicans as a monolithic entity that could potentially prevent these housing changes that the President is touting as inherently a boon to all. Then, there is a blunt description of who this applies to. “First-time homebuyers and people who sell their starter homes” are the majority demographic at the receiving end of the consequences of the United States’ inflated and scarcely affordable housing market. More than this though, the Biden administration also highlights renters who would benefit from additional housing; those moving from their starter homes or apartments could leave their residences vacant for prospective renters. Rather than feeling stuck in a purgatory of where they have the finances that exceed the necessities of their current home, these existing homeowners could hypothetically afford a move with this new set of policies. The share of first-time homebuyers in the housing market is decreasing in a society where three quarters believe homeownership is a facet of the American Dream. Therefore, Biden is not only appealing to voters’ economic sensibilities, but also their sentimental aspirations.

This humanization of the relationship between Biden and his constituents has long been part of his political populism. Populism is often associated nowadays with the conservative-right like Trump and autocrats like President of Turkey Recep Erdoğan, but it is more of an amorphous ideology that can be wielded by anybody rather than a partisan application of political thought. Biden built his career off this approach; refer to his emotion-fueled alignment with the railroad industry that earned him the nickname ‘Amtrak Joe’ or just look at his prolonged entrance at this year’s SOU, where he shook the hands of, or talked to, nearly every individual he came across. Many see Biden as an old man arguing with the clouds, but the SOU’s GOP respondent Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) labeled him more fittingly as “a permanent politician.” While this was intended to be a backhanded compliment that highlighted Biden’s detachment from civilians’ everyday life, it shone a light on how connected he is compared to his detractors. 

So, how does this relate to Trump’s brand of scorched-Earth populism? It does not in a general sense, but does in a very specific analogy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, then-President Trump reluctantly passed a stimulus bill that would provide checks to tens of millions of Americans to combat the hardships of joblessness and diminishing incomes. This was a desired outcome by many and there was nothing particularly notable about it in theory, but Trump decided to pull an unprecedented move by placing his name on the paper payouts. Although it was the job of the IRS and other federal bureaucracies to distribute these funds, Trump effectively took individual credit for the effort in a similar fashion to how he might brand one of his hotel complexes. As a result, many recipients of the checks felt personally indebted and appreciative of Trump. This politically savvy populist decision from four years ago is still paying dividends for the 2024 Trump campaign. Minority voters who feel ostracized from Big Government and the coldness of bureaucracy felt a sense of warmth through the perception that their Commander-in-Chief seemingly took personal notice of them and their struggles. Hot 97 radio host and cultural influencer Charlamagne tha God puts it succinctly:

“[Black voters] like to see things that they can touch and they can feel. When people wonder why folks keep bringing up these stimulus checks, it’s because it’s something that they could actually touch and they could feel and they could see.”

Charlamagne proceeds to mention how black Americans desire “social mobility” and more bluntly, “cash.” Biden has done his best to circumvent a deadlocked Congress to pass the type of policies that would put money in the hands of those who need it most, such as with student loan debt forgiveness. But the homeownership tax credit is a direct attempt at leveraging the salience of an issue in a personal fashion with its connection to the American ethos. College has become less relevant of a priority for Americans as it continues to lose its credibility among the right-wing, working-class Americans and Zoomers, but housing is an issue that reaches across all demographics. In his SOU and fact sheet, Biden also places the responsibility on the opposing party, rather than exercising executive privilege that he knows will be immediately appealed or litigated. This further enhances himself as a man of the people that is being curtailed by governmental elites, a crucial populist characteristic.

I do not expect Biden to slap his name on every email or form related to this bill if it passes. But the virality of his SOU address and the rejections from hardline Congressional Republicans who simply want to prevent any Democrat-initiated legislation from passing will do wonders to accentuate Biden as the true populist in the 2024 Presidential Election.