Republicans struggle to land against attacks President Biden
Joe BidenFour members of the Sikh community among Indianapolis victims who shoot ‘Overnight Health’: NIH withdraws Trump’s ban on fetal tissue research | Biden invests .7B to fight virus variants | CDC Panel Gathers Again Friday At J&J On The Money: Moderates’ 0B Infrastructure Bill Is Hard To Sell With Democrats | Justice Dept. sues Trump ally Roger Stone for MORE unpaid taxes as they struggle to regain power in Washington next year.
Biden is proving to be an elusive figure for Republicans to successfully report by nearly 100 days in his administration, maintain a relatively low profile, and refuse to participate in the daily verbal sparring that has consumed Washington in recent years.
It presents a challenge that, as GOP senators recognize, is not the target.
“We have to get better at it. I don’t think our coverage is sometimes as sharp as it should be, because a lot of the things they do are things that are popular – when you spend money, you are popular, ”Sen. John Thune
John Randolph ThuneSenate GOP to face off next week over ear tags Biden outreach on infrastructure meets Republican skepticism McConnell tries to end feud with Trump MORE (SD), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said of the Republicans’ success in defining Biden.
Asked how his party was doing, Sen. Mike Braun
Michael Braun Serious about climate change? Take Farming Seriously Exclusive: GOP Senators Seek FBI Investigation Into Biden Pentagon Nominee Some Republican Lawmakers Say No To COVID-19 Vaccines MORE (R-Ind.) Replied, “Bad.”
“I don’t think we did very well because he gets away with defining himself and rolling out this stuff that we borrow every penny for it, and the public is buying it,” Braun said. “We need to find ways to articulate and fight in a better way, and I don’t know if we found that.”
Biden has spent decades building his reputation as an affable deal maker who came through the centrist wing of the party. During the 2020 campaign, he spoke about his relationship with Republicans and hoped so afterward President Trump
Donald Trump Freedom Caucus Member Condemns GOP Group Pushing ‘Anglo-Saxon Political Traditions’ MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s New Free Speech Site To Ban Certain Curse Words Secret Facebook Special Operations Officers Groups Contain Racist Comments, QAnon Posts: Report MORE left the office that would break the “fever”.
The bipartisan rhetoric has continued in the White House, with the government reaching out to GOP lawmakers through private phone calls and publicly disclosed Oval Office meetings.
Republicans view the rhetoric as out of touch with how he rules, referring to invitations to the White House that don’t result in actual policy changes going to the GOP.
“He has been on the road with a dialogue of unity and duality and has almost created a masterpiece in the sense that there has been none of it. And that we need to clarify that. I think the invitations to the White House, I was on one of those. … What did we end with? Zero, ”Braun said.
Republicans are betting voters will eventually turn against Biden’s multi-billion dollar spend.
“His tone is subdued and he’s an affable person, he’s a nice person and many of us know him, have relationships with him and it’s probably more difficult to attack someone who is recognizable and likeable,” said Thune.
But, he added, “if he continues on the left lane, the far left lane, in terms of policy, that will eventually catch up with him.”
That’s not true of the Republicans so far, though, with Biden recently winning praise for both style and substance from the right this week.
Republicans were quick to support new sanctions the government had imposed against Russia. And his speech at the memorial to a Capitol Police officer murdered this month earned him praise from Fox News, where host Harris Faulkner called him “ iconic ” for delivering “ kindness and empathy. ”
GOP senators have acknowledged that, politics aside, they mostly like Biden, and many have known him for years, if not decades.
GOP leader of the senate Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPew Poll: 50 Percent Approve Democrats in Congress Pelosi Over Power in DC: ‘You Have to Grab It’ Progressives Put Democrats on Defense (Ky.) At a recent stop in Kentucky, Biden accused of leading a “left-wing government” but added that he was a “first-class person.”
“I personally like him, I mean, we’ve been friends for a long time,” McConnell said.
GOP senators say Biden’s “nice guy” reputation and moderate tone have helped isolate him politically.
‘I think he’s on a bit of a honeymoon now because he seems like a nice guy, and he is. But people think that just because you’re a nice guy, you’re kind of a moderate person, and he doesn’t rule like a moderate person, ”said Sen. John Cornyn
John Cornyn Intelligent Leaders Push For Mandatory Violation Reporting Act Senate GOP Signal They Won’t Submit Debate On Hate Crime Bill Application Portal For Five-Day Location Allocation With No Updates MORE (R-Texas).
“It’s always harder to fight a nice person because people usually give him the benefit of the doubt,” he added.
Biden’s approval ratings have remained largely stable in the low to mid-50s since taking office in late January, according to averages compiled by the tracking website FiveThirtyEight. That’s higher than Trump during his four years in the White House.
A Pew Research Center poll published Thursday gave Biden’s approval to 59 percent, up from 54 percent in their March poll. Forty-six percent of Americans also said they liked how Biden “acts like president,” compared with 27 percent who don’t. Forty-four percent say they have improved political debate.
Republicans think they have had success in hitting Biden at the border.
The wave of unaccompanied migrant children along the US-Mexico border emerged as a political focal point last month. Democrats acknowledged it was a concern and Sen. Joe Manchin
Joe Manchin On The Money: Moderates’ 0B Infrastructure Bill Is Hard To Sell With Democrats | Justice Dept. sues Trump ally Roger Stone for unpaid taxes Moderates’ 0B infrastructure bill is hard to sell with Democrats’ Just say no ‘just won’t work for Senate Republicans MORE (DW.Va.) used another ‘C’ word – crisis – to describe the situation.
Polling supports the GOP’s perception that the border is a weak spot for Biden. A Quinnipiac University poll found that only 29 percent of Americans agree with Biden’s approach to the situation at the border and 55 percent disagree.
Forty-eight percent also told Pew they see illegal immigration as a “very big problem,” 20 points more than a year ago.
‘I think he defined himself. … I think we just need to point out what he’s doing, the border disaster, ”said Sen. Ron Johnson
Ronald (Ron) Harold Johnson Pelosi: Dropping 9/11 style Jan. 6 Committee An ‘Option’ Amid Opposition Wisconsin State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski Launches Senate Bid Biden Chooses Vocal Trump Critics To Lead Immigration Offices MORE (R-Delete.).
Johnson also blamed the media for not focusing on the border anymore, adding that “if you have the mainstream media in your back pocket, you will stay popular.”
But when senators returned to the Capitol this week, the GOP leadership largely focused their weekly press conference on infrastructure and spending, with only Thune citing the limit. A second press conference on Thursday was similar.
Some Republicans are leaning into the cultural wars, playing well with the GOP base, and Biden’s mental fitness is a constant whirl of speculation for the right.
But Cornyn received fierce backlash this week for a tweet thread quoting a Politico article detailing Biden’s less-is-more media strategy. He followed that up with another tweet asking who is “really in charge,” which sparked criticism for raising those questions. The GOP senator described the experience as “carpet bombed,” but backed up his tweet.
‘I think it’s a good question. When the 10 Republicans came to talk about the COVID-19 bill, they apparently had a really nice meeting with the president and Ron Klain
Ron Klain’s White House ‘shocked’ by the Indianapolis shooting. Forgiveness of K in school loans would free 36 million student borrowers from debt: Overnight Defense data: Biden makes his Afghanistan decision MORE shook his head… so I think it’s a fair question, ”he said, referring to Biden’s chief of staff.
But Senate Republicans have largely stayed away from personal attacks on Biden, arguing that the best way to win politics against him in the long run is policy.
“I don’t engage in those kinds of conversations. I’m more concerned about nuts and bolts in what they do in terms of policy, ”said Braun.
Opinion polls show that Biden’s ideas are popular with a majority of Americans. Pew found that 67 percent of Americans approve the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus package. According to a Morning Consult-Politico poll, 57 percent of Americans support its infrastructure plan.
Braun has credited Biden with picking out issues that are generally popular on the surface, even if the Democrats then expand the actual legislation to go much further.
“I think he has defined himself and that resonates with the public that he is looking for duality and unity and that they have chosen topics – who is against COVID relief? But then it’s only 10 percent. Who is against infrastructure? And it’s only six percent, that’s roads and bridges, ”said Braun.