President Biden memorably jumped the gun on Barack Obama by endorsing same-sex marriage more than a decade ago, but at a June fundraiser near San Francisco, he couldn’t remember the lyrics LGBTQ
And while the Democratic Party makes the fight for abortion rights central to its political message, Mr. Biden last week declared himself “not big on abortion.”
At a time when America’s political parties are exchanging fierce fire from the trenches of a war over social and cultural policy, the president is staying out of the fray.
White, male, 80 years old and not up-to-date on the parlance of the left, Mr. Biden has largely avoided getting caught up in contemporary struggles over gender, abortion and other hotly contested social issues, even when he does things like now hosting what he called “The largest Pride Month celebration ever held at the White House.”
Republicans have tried to bring him in, but they seem to recognize the difficulty: When GOP presidential candidates promise to end what they mockingly call “woke” culture, they often point their barbs not directly at Mr. Biden but at large corporations such as Disney and BlackRock. or the vast “administrative state” of the federal government. Republican strategists say most of his party’s message on abortion and transgender issues is aimed at primary voters, while Mr. Biden is seen as much more vulnerable in a general election on the economy, crime and immigration.
Mr. Biden’s armor against cultural attacks may seem unlikely for a president who has staunchly advocated for LGBTQ people, the leader of a party whose fortunes ride on the tide of abortion politics. and a man who owes his presidency to the unyielding support of black Democratic primaries. voters
Yet despite taking positions over the years that pushed Democrats — and then the country — toward more liberal attitudes on social issues, Mr. Biden has kept his distance from elements in his party who might question him. political problems In June, the White House he said he had blocked a transgender activist who went topless at her Pride event.
And while Mr. Biden’s age has become one of his main political weaknesses, both his allies and his adversaries say it also helps insulate him from cultural attacks by Republicans.
“Everybody wants to talk about how old Joe Biden is, but the truth is that his age and his experience allow him to be who he is and allow him to say things and help people in a way that no one else can.” , said Henry R. Muñoz III, former finance director of the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Muñoz, who is gay, had Mr. Biden served as an officiant at her wedding in 2017.
Much of Mr. Biden’s loyalty among LGBTQ Democrats stems from his 2012 endorsement of same-sex marriage, when Mr. Obama still officially opposed it. Mr. Biden’s position was considered politically risky at the time, before the Supreme Court in 2015 recognized the right of same-sex couples to marry, but it has become something he boasted about during the his 2020 campaign.
He has also been at the forefront of recognizing transgender rights. In his first week in office, Biden ended a Trump-era ban on transgender troops in the military. In December, he signed federal protections for same-sex marriage.
At the same time, Mr. Biden has not adopted the terminology of progressive activists or engaged in public debates that might leave him outside the political mainstream. On Thursday, after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling ending affirmative action in college admissions, a reporter asked him, “Is this a rogue court?”
Pausing to think for a moment, Mr. Biden replied: “This is no ordinary court.”
He also doesn’t always remember the words most American politicians use to describe LGBTQ people. At a fundraiser near San Francisco last month, Biden lamented the Supreme Court decision last year that ended the nation’s right to abortion and suggested the court would come down on gay rights.
Paraphrasing two of the conservative justices, he said: “There is no constitutional right in the law for HB, excuse me, for gays, lesbians, you know, everything, the whole group. There is no constitutional protection.”
During a stop at the Iowa State Fair during his 2020 campaign, a conservative provocateur following the Democratic presidential candidates asked Mr. Biden, “How many genders are there?”
Mr. Biden answered: “There are at least three. Don’t play with me, kid.”
Then, perhaps not realizing that his inquisitor was a right-wing activist, Mr. Biden added: “By the way, the first one to go out and get married was me.”
Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator who recently launched a campaign to become the first transgender member of Congress, said Mr. Biden’s language gave her the ability to rally Democrats behind a progressive social agenda and “reach communities and demographics that are not yet fully engaged.” the coalition”.
“He’s not getting caught up in rhetoric that isn’t comprehensible to your middle-of-the-road voter,” said Ms. McBride.
He also noted that Mr. Biden’s age was useful in making the case for Democrats on social issues without alienating skeptical voters.
“His background allows him to say things that I think would be heard more radical if said by a younger politician,” he said.
As most Americans have accepted gay marriage, social conservatives have made opposition to transgender rights a pillar of their politics. And the Republicans running to unseat Mr. Biden have tended to focus on energizing Republican primary voters rather than badmouthing the president.
“It’s hard to paint an 80-year-old white man as a flaming warrior,” said Whit Ayres, a longtime pollster of Republican candidates.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is perhaps the main purveyor of Republicans’ anti-“woke” message, throwing barbs both online and in speeches. On Friday, his campaign blasted even Mr. Trump as too liberal on LGBTQ issues in a provocative video posted on Twitter.
At a June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mr. DeSantis described being approached by military veterans who don’t want their children and grandchildren to join the armed forces because of liberal policy changes instituted by Democrats, although the governor blamed both Mr. obama as Mr. Biden did.
“An awakened military will not be a strong military,” said Mr. DeSantis. “You have to take the politicization out of it. And on Day 1, we’re ripping up all the Obama-Biden policies to wake up the military.”
Mr. Biden has never presented himself as a left-wing culture warrior. A Catholic, he has long been wary of jumping headlong into the fight for abortion rights. Even as his campaign and party prepare to make his re-election bid a referendum on Republican efforts to further restrict abortion, Mr. Biden proclaimed to a crowd of donors in the suburbs of Washington that he didn’t feel like doing it himself.
“You know, I’m a practicing Catholic,” Mr. Biden said last week. “I’m not big on abortion. But guess what? Roe v. Wade got it right.”
That stance has long caused consternation among Democrats. It took until June 2019, weeks after he began his 2020 campaign and under immense pressure from allies in his party, for Mr. Biden to abandon his long-standing support for banning federal funding for abortion .
Renee Bracey Sherman, the founder of We Testify, a group that shares women’s abortion stories, said Mr. Biden should take a stronger stance on abortion rights to energize liberal voters in 2024. He suggested that, in the same way Mr. Biden hosts championship sports teams at the White House, he should invite women who have had abortions to come and tell their stories.
“The midterms show that Americans love abortion,” said Ms. Bracey Sherman. “Abortion has a higher approval rating than he does. He should be riding the abortion wave.”
Kristi Eaton contributed reporting from Tulsa, Okla.
