ATLANTA ― The ongoing impeachment inquiry hearings on President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine are bolstering former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential bid, said senior officials with the Democratic candidate’s campaign.
Biden campaign officials met with reporters Wednesday ahead of the Democratic presidential debate in Atlanta. Asked whether the former vice president has spent much time watching the impeachment hearings, a senior campaign official said no but that they’ve been “helpful.”
“They’ve really reminded people of two things: One, that you have Trump administration officials testifying under oath that Vice President Biden did nothing wrong,” the official said.
The official continued: “And two, you’re fundamentally reminding voters every day that Donald Trump doesn’t want to have to face Joe Biden at the ballot box and that’s why he’s being impeached in the first place.”
The House’s impeachment inquiry centers on Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to launch a political investigation into Biden and his alleged decision to use U.S. military aid to the country as leverage.
The Biden campaign declined to discuss internal polling that may have demonstrated how impeachment is benefiting the former vice president, pointing to public polling and news headlines generally to show the “net benefit” to Biden’s campaign.
As other Democratic candidates like Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have seen their support in the polls climb and then dip in recent months, Biden has remained the steady front-runner.
Americans remain split on whether Congress should impeach and vote to remove Trump from office, according to a PBSNewsHour, NPR and Marist poll released Tuesday. The poll shows little change in public attitudes since the public hearings began last week.
A Quinnipiac University poll of likely Democratic voters in South Carolina out this week showed Biden at 33% ― a 20-point lead over the rest of the Democratic pack. Sens. Warren and Bernie Sanders (Vt.) trail the former vice president with 13% and 11%, respectively.