Bill Stepien, President Trump’s campaign manager, on Monday cast presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden as “an empty vessel of the radical left” and said Mr. Trump is on solid footing in the campaign’s internal polling.
“I think you need to judge Joe Biden by the people he’s surrounding himself with,” Mr. Stepien said on “Fox & Friends.”
He said Mr. Biden has “kowtowed to the radical left.”
“I think we’re about to see the same when he chooses his vice presidential nominee,” Mr. Stepien said.
“He is [an] empty vessel of the radical left — it’s how he won the nomination in the first place ,and it’s extremely concerning that he is a pawn of the radical fringe of his party, of the AOC wing of the party,” he said, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Mr. Stepien dismissed public polling that has generally shown Mr. Biden ahead of Mr. Trump, including in key battleground states.
“I don’t get caught up in the daily horse race,” he said, while allowing that he does sneak a peek at polling from time to time.
Mr. Stepien said Mr. Trump picked up support in Rasmussen’s latest poll, where his job approval rating was at 50%.
“The pollsters got it wrong in 2016,” he said, saying their internal polls have Mr. Trump in a strong position.
Mr. Stepien took over as the president’s campaign manager last month, replacing Brad Parscale.
He said he’s focused on doing things that win votes, “winning each of the next 92 days of the campaign” and matching Mr. Trump’s work ethic.
“We’re going to have a blue-collar chip on our shoulder,” Mr. Stepien said. “We’re going to run like we’re the underdog. We’re going to run like we’re two points behind even if and when we’re two points ahead — that’s the mentality we’re going to have.”
