A few days later after the trial, Biden could re-engage from a foundation of trust. Having heard their local needs back home, he could center his COVID relief proposals around those needs.
Given a choice between building trust or a cold call asking Republican senators to support trillions in new spending, which seems more natural for Joe Biden? Which seems more likely to get Republicans to break from their caucus without painful concessions? The answer is obvious.
Beyond these private conversations, Biden’s public embrace of a Senate trial would advance his policy agenda by pumping up his biggest supporters instead of deflating them. A CBS poll this week shows double-digit support for impeachment including a majority of independents and 88 percent of Democrats.