OPINION:
It won’t come as news to anybody that President Biden is wildly unpopular — just about everyone who’s lived through his 18 months as president has a reason to disapprove of the job he’s doing. But there’s been a new development in the past few weeks: Even Democrats are turning their back on him.
First came a string of stories in which other Democrats trashed the president. Accounts of an unresponsive administration incapable of action have come in fast and furious. And he’s taking fire from all sides. One White House aide said, “There’s not a frontline office out there right now that isn’t frustrated with the lack of action coming from the White House on inflation.” Another Democrat in Congress called the White House “rudderless, aimless and hopeless.”
Meanwhile, the most radical members of his party keep pushing Mr. Biden further left, prodding him to support measures that range from the dumb to the likely unconstitutional. For once, Democrats are right: Biden is “not meeting the moment” on any front.
And Democrats are not-so-quietly shoving Mr. Biden out the door. Earlier this month in Ohio, the Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. Senate refused to attend an event with Mr. Biden. A shadow Democratic primary for 2024 is already underway as governors, senators and Cabinet members start to do the things people do when they want to run for president.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking to the airwaves in Florida to attack one of the nation’s most effective conservatives, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. And Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker traveled to New Hampshire to headline the state’s annual Democrat Party convention. Republicans say: Bring it on. We’ll take on tax-and-spend, lockdown-loving liberals like Mr. Newsom and Mr. Pritzker any time, any place.
It’s not only elected Democrats and the pundit class that are turning on Mr. Biden. The American people are, too. A Harvard/Harris poll found that 60% of Americans doubt his fitness to serve as president. A Fox News survey found that nearly 3 in 4 Americans don’t want Mr. Biden to run again. And a New York Times/Siena College poll painted an even more dire picture: Only 13% of voters think Mr. Biden’s America is on the right track. It’s no wonder even 64% of Democrats don’t want Mr. Biden to run in 2024.
It’s not hard to figure out why Americans are ready to pull the plug on Mr. Biden. He spent us into the inflation crisis, and he’s still denying it. First, his administration called it transitory. In January, they said inflation had peaked. Then it was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fault. And now, with inflation topping 9%, the White House is claiming that the data is “out-of-date.”
On the border? Mr. Biden’s been just as bad. He ended the “Remain in Mexico” policy that gave our Border Patrol far more flexibility in how they dealt with illegal crossings. He’s scapegoating Border Patrol agents and punishing them for things they didn’t do. And in a surefire sign he doesn’t care about illegal immigration, he appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to handle it. The results have been predictable: May saw more than 240,000 illegal border crossings, the most in DHS history. Fentanyl and methamphetamine continue to pour across the border and poison our kids.
And Mr. Biden has stood idly by as radical Democrats have called to defund the police and release dangerous criminals from prison. Their failed policies have caused crime to spike — 14 major Democrat cities set all-time high homicide records in 2021, and those trends are only continuing upwards this year.
The American people can’t handle two more years of Mr. Biden, let alone six. It is critical that Republicans take back the House and Senate this November to put a stop to his far-left agenda. A GOP Congress will push back against the reckless spending at the source of today’s inflation. They’ll fight to secure our border and stop the flow of illicit drugs into our cities. They’ll use their perch to hold the Biden administration accountable for its lies and corruption. And yes, where there’s common ground, they’ll work with the White House to produce solutions that work for the American people — because that’s what responsible legislators do.
So, to the Democrats who want to dump Mr. Biden, and every American fed up with skyrocketing prices, dangerous streets and a border overrun by illegal immigration: Start by voting Republican in 2022.
• Paris Dennard is the national spokesperson and director of Black Media Affairs for the Republican National Committee. Follow him on Twitter: @PARISDENNARD.
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