‘Be the effing President’: Democrat anger at Biden reaches boiling point as strategists say the White House is ‘one step behind’, being hurt by ‘fiery’ speeches from MAGA Republicans and the President needs to step up
- Democratic frustration with Joe Biden is reaching boiling point
- Party worried about upcoming midterm election
- Want a more aggressive, fighting president
- ‘Be the effing president,’ one Democratic strategist told DailyMail.com
- White House says Biden is out there fighting for his party
- Democratic strategists also concede Biden in tough spot and dealt bad hand
Democratic frustration with Joe Biden is boiling over as the midterms approach with many wanting to see a more aggressive, fighter of a president as the clock ticks down to November’s election.
A litany of complaints has surfaced in the past few weeks about Biden’s administration, mainly that it has been too slow to react to major events like the Supreme Court ruling on abortion or hasn’t been passionate enough in its response to mass shootings.
One Democratic strategist bemoaned to DailyMail.com that ‘this White House is just always like a half step behind.’
‘Be the effing president,’ the strategist said of Biden.
The White House has countered that the president has moved quickly, pointing to the gun legislation that he recently signed into law. But Biden – despite begging from activists – didn’t announce plans for executive action on reproductive rights until Friday, two weeks after a Supreme Court ruling that everyone knew was coming.
As election worries consume the party, Democrats are showing they want a change from the steady hand the country elected in the wake of Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency and the covid pandemic.
But, now, with inflation at a 40-year-high, abortion rights endangered in many states, and Trump’s actions as president in the spotlight of the January 6th committee, Democrats want to see their president pumped up.
Jesse Ferguson, a longtime Democratic campaign strategist, acknowledges the frustration among the party faithful even as he argues actions mean more than his words.
‘Everyone has a right to be frustrated right now but the people hurting us are the Republicans in this MAGA faction who have taken over. Giving more fiery speeches will make us all feel better, but getting more Democrats elected is the solution to the problem,’ he told DailyMail.com.
Democratic frustration with Joe Biden is boiling over as the midterms approach with many wanting to see a more aggressive, fighter of a president
Another longtime Democratic strategist told DailyMail.com that ‘everyone has their reason for being exhausted’ with the president.
‘Progressives want all the change, the vast majority of the country just wants to get to some semblance of normal again, moderates are tired of the progressives being detached from independent voters, and everyone wants [Attorney General] Merrick Garland to empanel grand juries yesterday,’ the strategist said.
‘With inflation, January 6th, Russia invading Ukraine, the Supreme Court imposing cultural shocks, and the new Omicron variants all dominating the first half of this term, it makes it really hard to make anybody happy,’ the strategist said.
Biden has issued a few zingers – slamming the ‘ultra MAGA’ Trump supporters – but he’s focused on playing the blame game.
He’s blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the high gas prices – calling it ‘Putin’s price hike’ – and blamed Congress for not codifying Roe vs. Wade into law or passing his Build Back Better bill filled with funding for social programs.
But some Democrats worry pointing the finger isn’t enough and that Biden needs to show he has a plan.
‘Voters want you to show your work,’ said Democratic stragetist Joel Payne.
He advised the White House to ‘simplify’ its message and ‘stop trying to like do everything and try to do like a couple things really well,’ like focusing on gas prices and inflation.
Voters say inflation is their top concern headed into the election. Gas prices have started to fall but still remain over a $1.50 higher per gallon than where they were a year ago.
In an alarming number, a majority of Americans- 85 per cent – said the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction, including nearly 8 in 10 Democrats, according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research last week.
The wrong track number can be a strong indication that the country wants a change – which usually results in the party in power losing seats in Congress. Republicans are heavily favored to take control of the House in November’s election.
Michael Stratton, a Democratic strategist who has worked on campaigns, said Biden has been dealt the ‘worst hand’ in terms of the post-pandemic world, its economic fallout, and the Supreme Court ruling.
‘Are there people out there, saying ‘Woe is me?’Of course there are, but I still believe that Biden is the right guy at the right time,’ he said.
But, he conceded, a more vocal Biden couldn’t hurt.
‘I think to some extent, the administration could blow their horn more or they could rally up supporters and get the the message out,’ he said. ‘The message that has gotten forgotten because of world events.’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said just having the president out on the trail, where voters can hear his message, makes a different.
‘For him to deal with everyday Americans whenever he travels, and he connects and and I think it makes a difference for them, to hear from from their president directly,’ she said on Wednesday when the president was traveling to Ohio.
New data show that annual inflation in the US rose to 8.6% last month, the biggest increase since December 1981
Abortion rights protests sprung up around country after the Supreme Court ruling
The grumblings among Democrats have been growing louder in the past few weeks as party faithful have expressed disappointment with Biden’s response to recent events – including the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe vs. Wade, the landmark case that made abortion legal in the country, and the recent spat of gun violence.
On the Fourth of July, in response to a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, Biden said: ‘We’ve got a lot more work to do. We’ve got to get this under control.’
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, Biden called for more Democrats to be elected to Congress in November.
‘This fall, we must elect more senators and representatives who will codify a woman’s right to choose into federal law once again,’ Biden said.
He and the White House were unprepared for the Supreme Court ruling, CNN reported, despite the fact a draft of the ruling had been published by Politico and that the decision was expected to be announced by the end of the court’s term.
‘There is a leadership vacuum right now, and he’s not filling it,’ Adam Jentleson, a Democratic consultant and former top adviser to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, told the Washington Post. ‘I sympathize with the argument that there’s very little they can do legislatively. But in moments of crisis, the president is called upon to be a leader. And when people are feeling scared and angry and outraged, they look to him for that, and they’re not getting much.’
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