The political environment Biden has returned to in Washington seems far less inspiring. While he was away, his research hit a new low, inflation hit a new high, and his domestic agenda took yet another blow, rendering it endlessly paralyzed.
Even the results of his tour of Israel and Saudi Arabia may not be felt by Americans for months. More immediate was the condemnation of his punch with the Saudi crown prince, whom he accused of orchestrating the murder of a dissident.
Biden’s aides say he often uses the flight home from abroad to discuss with exhausted employees the household items that are next on his list. A week ago, that would likely have included further attempts to pass the broad social safety net and climate law he’s been pushing for more than a year.
With that effort stalled after yet another objection from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Biden is left with a set of options for political victories in the months leading up to the November election, but a growing list of problems that continue to fuel voter anger.
“He had so many hopes and plans for the things he wanted to do,” First Lady Jill Biden told Democratic donors in Nantucket this weekend while her husband was abroad. “But every time you turned around, he had to solve the problems of the moment.”
It’s a sentiment widely shared in the West Wing and among Biden’s Democratic allies, many of whom see the past year – starting with a resurgence of Covid-19 after Biden declared “freedom from the virus” followed by the US’s confused and deadly withdrawal from the United States. Afghanistan – like one crisis after another.
A set of decisions – including easing some tariffs on China and addressing student loan debt – has been delayed but will likely be due in the coming weeks after months of deliberation, internal disagreement and, according to some officials, delays by Biden in make a decision.
White House officials point to falling gasoline prices, progress on drug price reform and a competitiveness bill aimed at tackling China as possible future victories, though it remains unclear what political benefit Democrats might reap first. from November.
Meanwhile, as Republicans look poised to win a majority in the House, Biden’s legal team continues to prepare for what they hope will be an onslaught of oversight investigations from a newly powerful Republican Party.
Biden was in a bad mood when he returned to the White House just before midnight this weekend, berating a reporter who asked him if he regretted punching Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Why don’t you guys talk about things that matter? I’m happy to answer a question that matters,” he said, holding a hand over his eyes to shield them from a bright spotlight.
It was the latest in a series of angry responses Biden has recently given to questions about his decisions or political stance.
He told a reporter who was on the beach in Rehoboth, Delaware, that she sounded like “a Republican politician” for asking about economic experts predicting a recession. And he rejected a question in Saudi Arabia about whether he could be sure that an incident like the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi would not be repeated.
“God loves you, what a silly question,” the president said.
The day he left for the Middle East, Biden was leaving a festive Congressional barbecue on the South Lawn when a reporter asked what his message was to Democrats who don’t want him to run again.
“They want me to run,” Biden said, walking over to him. “Read the polls. Read the polls, jack. You’re all the same. This poll showed that 92% of Democrats, if I ran, would vote for me.”
Biden’s familiarity with the New York Times/Siena College poll released last week was not surprising, though he once said he doesn’t believe polls about his approval ratings. The poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters in the primaries would prefer another candidate to Biden in 2024, although it also showed a close race between him and former President Donald Trump in a possible rematch.
Concerns among Democrats about Biden’s leadership – and, increasingly, his age – have grown in recent weeks. Runaway inflation has caused some Democrats to distance themselves from the White House, which has struggled to contain voter anger.
“I said for a while that I thought he and the administration were too slow to react to that,” Senator Maggie Hassan, a vulnerable New Hampshire Democrat for re-election this fall, told CNN’s Manu Raju this week. Asked if she would support Biden in 2024, Hassan said: “If he runs, I will support him.”
Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from a competitive Michigan district, said inflation and the economy “should be the start of every press conference in the White House and every other relevant department and agency.” She said attempts by some senior Democrats to downplay or project an end to inflation are being poorly received among voters.
“I’m from Michigan,” she told Brianna Keilar on CNN. “We’re kind of straightforward about what’s going on and I think people can feel and see the spin, and I don’t think they like it.”
Jared Bernstein, one of the White House’s top economic advisers, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that the drop in gas prices last month was an achievement worth publicizing.
“If we’re going to talk about the damage that these high energy prices are doing to household budgets, I think we have to talk about the benefits for when those prices drop a little bit,” he told Dana Bash in “State of the Union.”
Still, he acknowledged that the decrease of about 47 cents a gallon from a month ago would likely not be registered for many Americans.
“The president is unequivocal in not calling any of this mission accomplished. We are talking about a decline that is completely insufficient when it comes to delivering the relief to family budgets they need.”
Democrat Frustration With White House Over Abortion and Guns
Democratic frustration with the White House on abortion and guns
It’s not just inflation that Biden faces backlash from fellow Democrats. Read also : The Summer Arts Academy encourages imagination. His cautious response to the Supreme Court ruling eliminating the national right to abortion was criticized by progressives, who were dismayed when the president and White House ruled out options such as trying to expand the higher court or allowing abortions to be performed on federal property. .
Some Democratic activists were also furious when it emerged that Biden had plans to name an anti-abortion Republican as a federal judge in Kentucky, part of what sources described as a possible deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who represents the state. Last week, the White House said it had scrapped the plan, citing opposition from Kentucky’s other Republican senator, Rand Paul.
Biden signed an executive order before going abroad to protect access to abortion. But many of his allies have pressed him to do more, including declaring a public health emergency — a step some officials view with skepticism.
“I think there’s more we can and should do right now, especially where women in states like mine are in crisis,” Democratic Representative Lizzie Fletcher of Texas told CNN’s Poppy Harlow last week.
On guns too, Biden is under pressure to do more. While a signing ceremony last week for the first major gun legislation in decades was a time to celebrate, it was briefly interrupted when a father whose son was killed in the 2018 Parkland mass shooting rose in protest.
“We have to do more than that,” shouted Manuel Oliver. “I’ve been trying to tell you this for years!”
On abortion, guns and other issues – including taming inflation – Biden and his aides point out that their options for acting through the executive branch are limited and suggest that some proposals from fellow Democrats do not hold up in court.
Biden said this week he was prepared to take executive action to tackle climate change after Manchin torpedoed what had been another attempt to pass new clean energy spending, along with tax increases on the wealthy, citing inflation concerns.
It was a disheartening result, but for some government officials not entirely surprising. Attempts to woo the West Virginian, including a rare breakfast invitation at Biden’s Delaware home last fall, had already resulted in similar disappointments. This time, administration officials left the negotiation to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – and many felt their skepticism confirmed after Manchin’s announcement last week.
Still, it was a seemingly decisive blow to the sweeping legislative ambitions that Biden came to power hoping to achieve. While Manchin says he is open to another look when new inflation figures are released next month, the window to approve even a shortened version of the president’s agenda is rapidly closing.
Even Biden, who describes himself as a “congenital optimist,” told reporters in Saudi Arabia that he “had no idea” whether Manchin was negotiating in good faith.
Returning to a quiet White House on Saturday night, Biden showed as much optimism as he could muster when asked if inflation would begin to fall.
“I’m waiting,” he told reporters gathered in the dark.
