Re: Biden wants to get out more, seething that his standing is now worse than Trump's

[Songbird Johnny]

In article <ugcm88$3folq$1...@dont-email.me>
governo...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Democrats are stupid criminals. No argument here.

President Joe Biden and his aides have grown increasingly
frustrated by their inability to turn the tide against a cascade
of challenges threatening to overwhelm the administration.

Soaring global inflation. Rising fuel prices. Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine. A Supreme Court poised to take away a constitutional
right. A potentially resurgent pandemic. A Congress too
deadlocked to tackle sweeping gun safety legislation even amid
an onslaught of mass shootings.

In crisis after crisis, the White House has found itself either
limited or helpless in its efforts to combat the forces
pummeling them. Morale inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is
plummeting amid growing fears that the parallels to Jimmy
Carter, another first-term Democrat plagued by soaring prices
and a foreign policy morass, will stick.

“It’s something that has bedeviled quite a few previous
presidents. Lots of things happen on your watch but it doesn’t
mean there is a magic wand to fix it,” said Robert Gibbs, a
press secretary under President Barack Obama. “The limits of the
presidency are not well grasped. The responsibility of the
president is greater than the tools he has to fix it.”

The West Wing believes there is still time for a course
correction.

Biden on latest jobs report: ‘We can tackle inflation from a
position of strength’

SharePlay Video
The plan is to put Biden on the road to highlight progress being
made, even incrementally, in meeting the series of tests, with
visits this week to California, where he will preside over a
summit of Western Hemisphere allies, as well as New Mexico to
push for his climate agenda. The administration will also set
aside its reluctance to work with “a pariah” nation with hopes
to spur oil production. And it plans to sharpen its attacks on
Republicans, aiming to paint the GOP as out-of-touch with
mainstream America on issues like gun safety and abortion, all
while hoping the upcoming Jan. 6 congressional hearings will
further color the party as too extremist and dangerous to return
to power.

But first aides need to quell the finger-pointing that’s been
erupting internally and the increasing concern over staff
shakeups, according to five White House officials and Democrats
close to the administration not authorized to publicly discuss
internal conversations. They also increasingly are trying to
soothe the greatest source of West Wing frustration, coming from
behind the Resolute Desk.

The president has expressed exasperation that his poll numbers
have sunk below those of Donald Trump, whom Biden routinely
refers to in private as “the worst president” in history and an
existential threat to the nation’s democracy.

Far more prone to salty language behind the scenes than
popularly known, Biden also recently erupted over being kept out
of the loop about the direness of the baby formula shortage that
has gripped parts of the country, according to a White House
staffer and a Democrat with knowledge of the conversation. He
voiced his frustration in a series of phone calls to allies, his
complaints triggered by heart-wrenching cable news coverage of
young mothers crying in fear that they could not feed their
children.

Biden didn’t want to be painted as slow to act on a problem
affecting the working-class people with whom he closely
identifies. Therefore, when aides convened a meeting with
formula company executives, the president — against the advice
of staffers — publicly declared it took weeks before details of
the shortage had reached him, even though the whistleblower
complaint that led to the shutdown of a major production
facility was issued months ago. Some aides feared the moment
made Biden look out of touch, especially after the CEOs in the
very same meeting made clear that warnings of the shortage were
known for some time.

White House pressed on baby formula response timeline

SharePlay Video
Members of Biden’s inner circle, including first lady Jill Biden
and the president’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, have complained
that West Wing staff has managed Biden with kid gloves, not
putting him on the road more or allowing him to flash more of
his genuine, relatable, albeit gaffe-prone self. One person
close to the president pushed for more “let Biden be Biden”
moments, with the president himself complaining he does not get
to interact enough with voters. The White House has pointed to
both security and Covid concerns in restricting the travel of
the 79-year-old president.

MOST READ
AP19221596829852.jpg
Trump’s endorsement stumper: Family friends or fierce ally
Bidens evacuated from Delaware residence after plane flies into
restricted airspace
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Is America’s Cry for Help
Whitmer, McConnell, Evers reportedly on Wisconsin gunman’s list
Trump weighs a big bet in Alabama Senate race
“A lot of things are out of his control and we are frustrated
and all Democrats — not just the White House but anyone with a
platform — need to do a better of job of reminding Americans of
how terrible it would be if Republicans take control,” said
Adrienne Elrod, a senior aide on Biden’s transition team and
aide to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Complicating the White House’s efforts to turn around the
president’s midterm fate has been the exodus of staff from its
communications shop: from press secretary Jen Psaki to several
deputy press aides. Psaki’s successor, Karine Jean-Pierre, took
the post with little experience, and allies were critical when,
days later, the White House brought over her Pentagon
counterpart, John Kirby to join the staff. Kirby has been a
candidate for Jean-Pierre’s role but will serve on the national
security team.

The staff drama hasn’t ended there. While Biden is undyingly
loyal to his small inner circle of advisers, whispers in the
building have built over whether the return of Anita Dunn — back
to a senior adviser post — could portend her eventually
succeeding Ron Klain as chief of staff.

With worries rising about the Democrats’ fate this November, the
White House switched to more aggressive attacks on Republicans
recently. Frustrated that the GOP has not been called to task
for releasing few policy ideas of its own, Biden has gone hard
after a tax plan put out by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). But those
broadsides have gained little traction.

'The great MAGA king': Biden sharpens midterm attacks

SharePlay Video
“The president is taking action to lower prices and fight the
global rise in inflation, building on the unprecedented job
creation and the manufacturing resurgence he has delivered,”
said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates. “And he’s working
with Congress to cut the deficit as well as many of the biggest
costs families face, like energy and prescription drugs. He
knows what families are going through and is moving to help
them.”

But much of what the White House can accomplish is only around
the edges. Biden has sounded the alarm about the potential
overturn of Roe v. Wade and continues to push Congress to act on
guns in the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and
Uvalde, Texas. But he also signaled in his Thursday evening
speech that he knows that Congress, at most, will pass small
measures on firearms that will leave much of his party
dissatisfied.

And while Biden has received high marks — even from some
Republicans — for holding together an alliance to stand up to
Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, voters this fall
will likely care far more about some of the war’s aftershocks:
its further strain on supply chains has only added to rising
inflation and, most painfully for the White House, soaring gas
prices.

For nearly a month, Biden and his inner circle have agonized
over whether to make a trip to Saudi Arabia, a nation the
president deemed a “pariah” after its crown prince, Mohammed bin
Salman, ordered the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post
columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden, for a time, angrily rejected
meeting with the crown prince, arguing the presidency “should
stand for something,” according to two people with knowledge of
his thinking.

But he has recently relented, recognizing a need to push Riyadh
for more oil production. Still, the dates for the trip remain
fluid, leaving some aides to wonder if the president will change
his mind again.

Biden’s inner circle is well aware of recent presidential
precedent. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both
overcame a rough first midterms only to benefit from economic
turnarounds and cruise to reelection. But George H.W. Bush and,
especially, Carter were felled by shaky economies and rising
inflation.

“[Carter] lost because of inflation and bad feelings about the
economy and a sense that America was flailing and Biden is
finding now that it’s hard to be a leader when other things are
unraveling,” said Douglas Brinkley, presidential historian at
Rice University. “He can’t just be a mourner-in-chief, he can’t
just play defense. He needs to be on offense and convince
Americans that, despite the challenges, better days are ahead.”

Biden and his staff are incompetent assholes.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/05/biden-wants-to-get-out-
more-seething-that-his-standing-is-now-worse-than-trumps-00037278

[Songbird Johnny]

In article <t2p7kn$3pfvj$2...@news.freedyn.de>