Fox News host Chris Wallace called out presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden last week for what the “Fox News Sunday” host characterized as the “basement strategy.”
Biden has been largely absent from the public eye during the coronavirus pandemic, which was not entirely unsurprising given the former vice president’s gaffe-prone nature. But even as the Biden campaign prepares to formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination this week, the campaign continues to employ its strategy of remaining out of the limelight.
The campaign’s behavior is especially unusual, according to Wallace — especially for the week of the convention.
“So I’ve been doing Sunday shows with conventions. I started on ‘Meet the Press’ in 1988. I’ve been doing it on and off for what? What is that? 32 years. And it always happens that the Sunday before the convention, the campaign puts out top officials to preview the convention and to say this is what we’re gonna try to get accomplished,” Wallace began.
So, you know, we’ve been counting all week on, you know, having a top official from the Biden campaign — the campaign manager, the top pollster, the chief strategist — to talk about what they’re going to talk about during this next week. They are not putting anybody out,” he continued. “And at first I thought, well, maybe it’s because it’s Fox News and they’re boycotting us. No, they’re not putting anybody out on any of the Sunday shows.”
Wallace, speaking on Guy Benson’s Fox News Radio show, went on to call the strategy the “damnedest thing” he has ever witnessed in political strategy.
“I don’t understand what’s going on here. This is the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen,” Wallace said.
“The Biden campaign isn’t putting anybody out. And this just is of a piece with the vice president not doing really any serious interviews, not answering any questions since the rollout,” Wallace continued. “He continues to lead with what I’ll call the basement strategy.”
“I don’t think you can hide from now until Election Day. I just don’t think it’s possible,” Wallace said.