OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden is drawing new criticism after he directed his Food and Drug Administration to delay a ban on menthol cigarettes until after the election in what is seen as blatant pandering to black voters.
“Under Biden, the Food and Drug Administration has worked toward enacting a ban on menthol cigarettes for two years, but it has recently moved to delay the finalization of the ban until after the election,” columnist Jeremiah Poff wrote at the Washington Examiner.
“The delay is blatant election-year pandering. Biden is trying to shore up support among black voters, a demographic that, according to recent polling, is somewhat shifting away from him, imperiling his reelection prospects, and he believes that keeping menthol cigarettes accessible will help him politically,” Poff added.
The columnist went on to speculate that “the jury may be out” over whether the delay will help Biden at the polls with black voters continuing to cast a ballot for his party. But, he notes, treating the rule as a blatant election tool used to pander to black voters “is showing how little he thinks of” them.
“Black voters, according to Biden and his party, can be swayed to vote for the president by delaying this one rule that will no doubt take effect after the election if Biden is able to win reelection. In other words, Biden and the partisan Democrats at the FDA think black voters are so dumb they will vote for the Democratic Party as long as they can buy menthol cigarettes through Election Day,” Poff wrote.
“With such a small view of this voter demographic, it is no surprise that polling has continually shown that former President Donald Trump is doing better among black voters than any Republican has in more than a half-century. Biden has overseen rampant inflation, wage stagnation, and an unparalleled border crisis,” he added.
In conclusion, Poff suggested that those issues are problematic for all voters regardless of skin color, though “Biden thinks he can neutralize these serious electoral liabilities with a bit of old-fashioned pandering.”
Meanwhile, former first lady Melania Trump is preparing to rejoin the campaign trail in support of her husband’s third presidential bid.
Melania is scheduled to host a fundraising event for the Log Cabin Republicans, a GOP LGBT group, at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on April 20, according to Politico.
The event follows months of anticipation regarding the former first lady’s return to the campaign trail since her husband announced his 2024 bid in November 2022. Last month, while accompanying Donald Trump to vote in the presidential primary in Florida, she told reporters to “stay tuned” when questioned about when she would begin campaigning for her husband, the Washington Examiner reported.
In recent months, Melania Trump has made several public appearances, including attending the funeral of former first lady Rosalynn Carter alongside all the other living former first ladies in November. She also participated in a ceremony at the National Archives commemorating Bill of Rights Day in December, the Examiner added.
She gave a spirited eulogy for her late mother during the funeral of Amalija Knavs in Palm Beach, Florida, in January.
“The former first lady has largely stayed out of the spotlight since leaving the White House in January 2021, but as her husband’s campaign gears up and Donald Trump continues to lead President Joe Biden in the polls, she may be seen on the campaign trail more often,” the Examiner noted.
Critics have fueled speculation about Melania’s withdrawal from public life, questioning the reasons behind her presumed absence. Concerns heightened when she was noticeably absent from a Trump family Christmas card, which prominently featured her husband, all his children, and her father.
