Biden’s 2024 speech highlights realism over Trump’s punitiveism

President Joe Biden promised voters in 2020 that he knew how to get things done in Washington and could bring stability to the capital. It seemed like a message out of step with the more militant times ushered in by Donald Trump.

But Biden won and is seeking a second term, and is once again trying to turn the campaign into a referendum on capacity and governance, and has turned the bipartisan debt-limit and budget bills he signed Saturday into a success for his approach. is given as another example.

The deal the Democratic president negotiated with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans averted the catastrophe of the U.S. government’s debt default and forestalled new threats until after the 2024 election, while keeping the president on track. has protected most of the domestic issues that lie at the core of those wishing to form a government in the future. heritage.

His approach to supporting Trump’s pragmatism over pragmatism will be tested like never before in the upcoming election. Despite his accomplishments, his approval ratings are low even among Democrats, largely due to concerns about his age as the oldest person in history. seek the office of president.

“The results speak for themselves,” said Jeff Zientz, 80, Mr. Biden’s chief of staff. “This level of support indicates that we have, most importantly, a bipartisan consensus that protects the president’s priorities. I put it in.”

Biden’s allies say his strategy reflects his broader view of the presidency, eliminating the day-to-day chatter and focusing on long-term impact. are doing.

“This was the quintessential Joe Biden,” said longtime Biden confidant and former Delaware Senator Ted Kaufman. “He really understands the system, how the system works, how it interacts and what the limits are. It’s an incredible advantage that comes from doing that.”

That perceived advantage — longevity — is also perhaps the steepest incline for Biden as he approaches four more years.

Mr. Biden devised the strategy shortly after Republicans took control of the House in November, according to aides, and has stuck to it through negotiations despite speculation from his own lawmakers. He urged Republicans to clarify their budget priorities, slam unpopular cuts in public once those priorities were set, and push the negotiations as hard as possible.

“He believes in America’s system of government. Presidential Senior Counsel Mike Donillon approached this with an eye on realizing the presidency and Congress and the way they were designed to function. .

As negotiations progressed, Mr. Biden stepped out of the limelight so that Republican leaders could claim victory (necessary to pitch the deal to the caucuses), and Democrats said the more they learned about the deal, the more they would like it. calmly reassuring.

As a result, White House aides say the deal has exceeded expectations of what a budget deal with the Republicans in charge of the House would look like. Rather than the drastic cuts proposed by Republicans, it effectively freezes next year’s spending, protecting spending on Biden’s infrastructure and climate laws as well as Social Security and Medicare.

From the view of Biden’s team, the result was that Biden was then-President Barack Obama’s negotiator and forced him to accept tougher budget cuts that House Republicans believe will hinder the nation’s recovery. Much better than the 2011 debt limit showdown. from the Great Depression.

Mr. Biden remains criticized by some within his party for agreeing to tougher working conditions for some federal food aid recipients and speeding up environmental reviews of infrastructure projects.

But the White House sees a bright side. Authorizing the change would accelerate the implementation of Biden’s Infrastructure Act and Climate Action Act. And Biden’s aides stress that the Congressional Budget Office’s projections show a cut from the labor requirements of veterans, homeless people and others. Leaving foster care actually expands the number of people eligible for federal food aid.

“While the rest of us are sweating through the micronews cycle and on Twitter over who’s for and who’s against, the president is playing the long game,” said Eric Schultz, president’s press secretary and Democratic strategist. I have,” he said.

“He ran for president on the promise that he would follow in his predecessor’s footsteps to restore Washington to function, and it’s hard to argue with that track record,” Schultz added. “He has proven that he can win big for the Democratic Party while working with the other side in good faith.”

Biden draws a red line in negotiations that the debt ceiling needs to be extended beyond the 2024 presidential election, and worries, both in content and style, that the confrontation could erupt again in an even more intense political environment. bottom.

He may be right, but voters are growing concerned about his age and its costs, a message relentlessly reinforced by Republican challengers and the conservative media ecosystem.

“Biden has delivered an impressive string of bipartisan achievements, proving he can do it without the limelight,” said presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky. “That was what American voters wanted at the time. But 2024 will be a completely different situation.”

He said Biden needed to argue that the stability he had brought was endangered by hostile forces and hoped voters would remember him long enough.

White House aides said the deal would give Biden “runaway space” until the 2024 election to focus on making the public feel the impact of the bill Biden signed into law. He says he has begun to prioritize what he will do in his next term. More Democrats in Congress.

Biden himself on Friday highlighted the contrast between the Republican party’s belligerent character and its adult attitude indoors. While highlighting Republican opposition to raising or cutting taxes on the wealthy and corporations, he called on both parties to “stop screaming as Americans and work together to keep the temperature down.”

“Republicans have defended each of these special interest loopholes,” Mr. Biden said, testing an election policy he expects to refine in the coming months. “One by one. But I’m going to come back. And with your help, I’m going to win.”

Breaking the vicious cycle of the debt ceiling still being used as a bargaining lever despite Mr. Biden’s protests and his goal to relieve himself and future presidential incumbents from possible future “hostages” Turns out it can’t be done. Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer said the deal had resulted in a “mixed-up” outcome and, for now, averted a crisis, but it could plague him and subsequent presidents again. said.

“Republicans have done it again. It happened when he was vice president, it happened when he was president, and it will happen again,” he said. “Many Republicans have always wanted tactics over results, and he didn’t stop that.”

Zelizer acknowledged that Biden may have had no other choice. The proposal that he would use the 14th Amendment to pay his obligations without congressional speech was untested and had its pitfalls.

“If there is such a threat, we have to negotiate,” he admitted.

But what matters to Biden’s team is the result.

“He was looking at the prize. It was like, ‘How does this deal work?'” And how will this deal move forward if I do it? said Donillon. “We need politics to come together when we need it. So I think it’s actually going to be an encouraging moment for this country.”

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