Washington DC - President Joe Biden has been noticeably silent regarding Donald Trump's mounting legal issues, but is this a wise strategy going into the 2024 elections?

With Trump currently facing 91 felony charges in four criminal indictments, he has again become the most talked about figure in American politics.

As just about everyone on the planet is debating whether he will go to prison, Biden has shied away from commenting on the subject.

Back in March, when Trump was hit with his first indictment of the year, Biden avoided several questions from journalists about his thoughts, responding, "I have no comment on Trump."

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Most recently, as Trump was being booked at Fulton County Jail after District Attorney Fani Willis announced his fourth indictment over his alleged attempts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, Biden was asked his thoughts on the iconic mugshot that was taken.

"Handsome guy. Wonderful guy," Biden responded sarcastically.

Otherwise, the president has gone out of his way to avoid talking about Trump, but is that a good or a bad thing?

It will come as no surprise that most Republicans aren't big fans of Biden, but Trump's legal troubles have supercharged their animosity.

With plenty of encouragement from the current GOP frontrunner for 2024, conspiracies are mushrooming over the Justice Department's pursuit of Trump.

Despite zero evidence that Biden has – or even can – order law enforcement and government agencies to go after his political rival, this has now become an obsessive refrain for many if not most on the right.

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Far-right figures such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert have even launched moves to have the president impeached over the matter.

It all feeds into the grievance machine that fuels the Republican project.

Meanwhile, President Biden choosing to remain silent on the topic is a bit of a double-edged sword – while staying out of the fray is probably the best choice from a legal perspective, it leaves the door open for speculation and conspiracies.

It seems that Biden believes his silence signals to the American people that he refuses to entertain unfounded claims from fringe politicians.

Given the polarization in American politics, this will have little effect on either Democratic or Republican voting intentions. How the approach works on independents, though, remains to be seen.