Blame the last guy: Why President Trump Keeps Criticizing Biden – and Why It Won't Save Him

Donald Trump seems to have finally decided who is to blame for all of the United States’ woes (aside from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy).

High gas prices, inflation, ammunition shortages, and even the war with Iran – according to the American president, Joe Biden and Barack Obama are responsible for all of this. And it doesn’t really matter that his predecessor left the White House nearly two years ago and that Trump himself has been running the country ever since.

This strategy helped the Republicans come to power in its time, but today there is one major problem. American voters seem less and less willing to look for culprits in the past and are skeptical, first and foremost, of the man who sits in the Oval Office today and, it seems, has finally slipped into the role of the “mad king” from *Game of Thrones*, monopolizing control of the Republican Party and firmly tying the success of the November 3, 2026, election to his own person.

24 Channel analyzed Donald Trump’s campaign strategy to understand why the American president continues to clash with Biden and Obama, how the lack of a single leader among the Democrats has suddenly turned into an advantage for them, and why Americans this time will be voting not for a specific party, but against its key representative. Vladislav Faraponov, head of the Institute of American Studies, helped shed more light on the situation surrounding the U.S. midterm elections.

Obama and Biden Ruined Everything: Why Trump Continues to Attack Former U.S. Presidents

Finding someone to blame for any problem has never been too difficult a task for Donald Trump. In 2016, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama became the main symbols of all of America’s woes, in 2020 – Joe Biden – and during the 2024 presidential campaign, after Biden dropped out of the race, Kamala Harris inherited that role.

But even after returning to the White House, Trump hasn’t given up his habit of seeking out a chief enemy among the Democrats. That said, he now comes across as someone firmly stuck in the past.

The extent of this peculiar nostalgia proved so significant that Reuters journalists conducted a separate study. They calculated that since the beginning of 2026 alone, Trump has mentioned Joe Biden at least 890 times (!) during his public speeches, interviews, and on the social media platform Truth Social. In other words, on average, Trump attacks Biden more than three times a day.

Trump removed Joe Biden’s portrait from the White House, replacing it with a photo of the former president’s autograph. Now Trump takes guests on tours to see this photo and makes them laugh at his antics / Photo – White House

At the same time, the former president was criticized for literally everything. Trump mentioned Biden at least 210 times in the context of economic problems, blamed his predecessor 168 times for the immigration crisis, and criticized him another 138 times for his decisions on foreign policy and national security.

However, Trump doesn’t even need a specific reason to bring up Joe Biden. He did so not only during political speeches to his supporters, but also at the premiere of Melania Trump’s film, the National Prayer Breakfast, and even at the White House Easter celebration.

The latest high-profile claim concerns Russian-held American citizen Stephen Gabbard, whose release Trump tried to use as a campaign ploy and an excuse to criticize Biden.

Undoubtedly, Ukraine holds a special place on this list of “Biden’s legacy.” When the U.S. administration fired off the lion’s share of its missile stockpile against Iran and suddenly faced a shortage of ammunition, Trump accused Biden specifically of having transferred too many American weapons to Kyiv. At the same time, he praised himself for arming the Ukrainians with Javelins.

Even the rise in fuel prices – which also occurred primarily because of his disastrous campaign in Iran – the U.S. president tried to blame on the previous administration’s decisions. Of course, except for those instances when it was necessary to accuse Zelenskyy of attacks on Russian oil refineries.

But Donald Trump hasn’t forgotten about Barack Obama, who actually left the presidency back in 2017. At a campaign rally in Kansas on October 19, the American leader once again called him a “bad president” and criticized him for supporting the Democratic candidate in Michigan.

Trump traditionally refers to Obama only by his full name – Barack Hussein Obama – in an attempt to associate him with negative connotations related to Saddam Hussein and, more broadly, with Muslims. He also never tires of envying Obama for having received the Nobel Peace Prize – unlike himself.

It turns out that just a couple of weeks before the midterm elections, the current U.S. president continues to wage war against a man who led the country nearly ten years ago. All of this seems both petty and pathetic, but this is precisely Trump’s strategy for the midterms.

Trump performs his signature dance at a campaign rally in Kansas / Photo – The Kansas City Star

This behavior isn’t explained solely by personal animosity toward political rivals. As American researchers note, Trump always needs a specific adversary, since attacking one person is much easier than attacking an entire party or institution.

This strategy allows him to shift public attention away from current problems and onto the mistakes of his predecessors, while simultaneously rallying his own electorate around himself and his party. Political scientist Vladislav Faraponov believes that Trump uses this tactic because it helped him during the last election.

The only problem is that two years of Donald Trump’s second term have already passed. While in 2016 and 2024 Trump presented himself as an opposition figure – and even an outsider – who promised to correct the mistakes of the incumbent administration, today he himself embodies that very administration. Moreover, he now has virtually absolute control over decision-making, since his Republican Party holds a majority in both chambers of the U.S. Congress and is therefore directly responsible for the current crises.

It is quite surprising that, despite wielding power unprecedented for a U.S. president in this century, he would appeal to “predecessors” and resort to populist promises instead of delivering real results.

And the longer Trump’s presidency lasts, the harder it becomes to explain to Americans why Joe Biden is still to blame for all their current troubles. Especially considering that today the Democrats lack any single political leader who could be cast as America’s main enemy.

Democrats Without a Clear Leader – How Internal Problems Became a Shield

Following Kamala Harris's defeat in the 2024 presidential election, the U.S. Democratic Party found itself in a very difficult position. Joe Biden has effectively ended his political career, Harris has failed to emerge as the party’s definitive leader, and they have yet to find a new politician capable of uniting all factions and generations of Democrats behind him.

Formally, the opposition in Congress is led by Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, but neither of them has the nationwide popularity that would allow them to become full-fledged rivals to Donald Trump.

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Chuck Schumer at Donald Trump’s first inauguration in 2017 / Photo – Wikimedia

At first glance, the situation for the Democrats is nearly catastrophic, because while the Republicans have a single leader around whom virtually all party activity is centered, their opponents are still arguing about their own future.

For example, moderate Democrats advocate a return to classical liberalism, while the party’s very active left wing is pushing for progressive (and sometimes even radical) economic reforms, and its most radical members are calling for a form of democratic socialism.

It is very likely that this dispute will continue at least until the start of the 2028 presidential race and will cause quite a few problems.

However, there is another side to this situation. Because right now, the Democratic Party’s identity crisis – compounded by a generational crisis and a clash of worldviews – has become a source of invulnerability and is working in the Democrats’ favor ahead of the November 3 election.

The lack of a single, charismatic leader among the Democrats means that Trump effectively has no one to fight against or tear to shreds on the social media platform Truth Social. Of course, the U.S. president can attack individual governors, members of Congress, or political activists, but none of them today represents the entire Democratic Party the way Trump himself embodies the Republicans, having monopolized the party’s identity.

That is precisely why the president’s team is trying to find a new enemy, at least on an ideological level. In the run-up to the election, Republicans have increasingly accused Democrats of socialism and communism, trying to convince Americans that a Democratic Party victory will inevitably destroy the American way of life itself. One of the main symbols of this campaign has been New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who openly identifies as a democratic socialist.

Trump shakes hands with New York’s newly elected Democratic mayor, Zohran Mamdani / Photo – AP

However, even here, Trump managed to pull a fast one on his own party. In September, when Republicans were actively scaring voters with the “communist Mamdani” scare, the president personally met with the mayor of New York, shook his hand, and publicly stated that he had great potential to become an excellent city leader (a city where the president’s family has so many business projects – 24 Channel). Trump’s unexpected show of support significantly complicated the Republicans’ attempts to use Mamdani as their main political bogeyman in the run-up to the election.

At the same time, the Democrats themselves aren’t even trying to hide their internal problems. What’s more, as Axios reports, quite a few Democratic candidates are openly criticizing their own leadership in their campaign ads and promising to fight corruption in both political camps. In effect, they are trying to distance themselves from the unpopular Washington establishment by offering voters an alternative to the current administration.

But this is precisely where the main paradox of today’s entire election campaign lies. While Trump is trying to convince Americans that unnamed Democrats – or Biden and Obama themselves – pose a danger to the country, the Democrats have made Donald Trump himself the main threat.

According to Associated Press estimates, since September 1, Democratic candidates and their allies have spent more than $163 million on television ads that directly mention Trump. By comparison, Republicans spent only about $11 million on similar ads mentioning Trump during the same period.

It appears, then, that Republicans are increasingly trying to divert voters’ attention away from their own president, while Democrats – and even Donald Trump himself – are, on the contrary, doing everything possible to ensure that he remains the central figure of the election campaign. And, judging by recent polls, this strategy may prove to be significantly more effective than yet another attempt by the White House chief to blame Joe Biden for all the country’s problems.

A Referendum Against Trump: What Americans Will Be Voting On

It seems that this political obsession with Donald Trump is already beginning to pay off for the Democrats. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, the U.S. president’s approval rating has plummeted to a record low of 31%. At the same time, when asked which party they would support in the congressional elections, 47% of registered voters chose the Democrats and only 35% chose the Republicans. By comparison, just two weeks earlier, the opposition’s lead was only 7%.

During the same period of Trump’s first term, his approval rating stood at around 38% / Source: Reuters

The reasons for this drop in Trump’s popularity are quite obvious. Americans are increasingly concerned about high gas prices, inflation, and the economic consequences of the war with Iran. According to the same survey, 68% of respondents are dissatisfied with the president’s economic policy, including as many as 37% of Republicans. Clearly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to convince these people that Joe Biden is still to blame for the rising gas prices at the pumps.

However, the Pew Research Center published a much more interesting study. According to its data, 44% of registered voters view voting in the congressional elections as an opportunity to express their opposition to Donald Trump. In contrast, only 19% see it as a way to support the president. Among Democratic voters, 84% say they are going to the polls specifically to vote against Trump.

Moreover, the Democratic electorate has proven to be significantly more motivated than the Republican one. Sixty-three percent of Democratic supporters said they were highly likely to vote, compared to 46% of Republican voters. And this is already a serious signal for the White House, since in midterm elections, voter turnout often determines the outcome in competitive districts.

It’s Too Early for Democrats to Celebrate

Democrats shouldn’t celebrate victory prematurely either. A nationwide lead in the polls does not guarantee a majority in Congress.

The opposition has the best prospects in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold only a slim majority. The battle for the Senate, however, is much more complicated, as Democrats need to take at least four seats from the Republicans, and future control of the chamber will be decided by several extremely competitive races in Maine, Ohio, Texas, and a few other states.

Polymarket users do not believe the Republican Party will win, even in the race for the U.S. Senate

However, even losing one chamber would be a serious political blow to Donald Trump. Democrats would gain the ability to block some of the president’s legislative initiatives, influence the budget process, and launch congressional investigations into the White House administration’s activities. Political analyst Vladislav Faraponov, however, explains that we shouldn’t expect a sharp shift in U.S. policy following the midterm elections.

However, if the Republicans lose the Senate in addition to the House of Representatives, funding for Trump’s numerous whims, the confirmation of presidential appointments – particularly federal judges – and much more will be at risk. Thus, the last two years of Trump’s second term could turn into an endless standoff with Congress.

This is Donald Trump’s key problem today. His ability to turn any election into a personal battle – which for years remained a key advantage – may now become his political curse.

In 2016, Trump won by convincing Americans that Hillary Clinton embodied all of Washington’s problems and sins. In 2024, he returned to the White House by holding the Biden administration primarily responsible for the country’s economic woes and proclaiming himself the cure for all ills.

Moreover, it was very important for him to maintain the image of the ultimate savior who would come and restore order. However, in the 2026 midterms, this strategy may backfire on him. Because order has never actually been restored; instead, there are constant scandals, unprecedented incompetence, an endless war with Iran, record-high gas prices, groveling before Putin and Xi, mockery of allies, blackmailing Ukraine, and a senseless tariff war against the entire world.

All of this has created a situation where Americans now don’t even need to know who will lead the Democratic Party in the next presidential election. To vote against the Republicans, all they need to do is remember who exactly is running the United States today and persistently dragging the world’s most powerful nation into the abyss.