Biden, Democrats ‘Rattled’ as Midterms Approach

Democrats’ mismanagement of multiple crises has plunged the Biden-Harris administration into disarray as the midterm elections approach. Joe Biden is reportedly frustrated with his incompetent staff, feuding with Democrats in Congress and “mystified” about his tanking poll numbers. 

NBC News: Faced with a worsening political predicament, President Joe Biden is pressing aides for a more compelling message and. . . is rattled by his sinking approval ratings.

Crises have piled up in ways that have at times made the Biden White House look flat-footed: record inflation, high gas prices, a rise in Covid case numbers. . . Democratic leaders are at a loss about how he can revive his prospects by November, when midterm elections may cost his party control of Congress. 

Biden and his allies, desperate to correct course, landed on a “tone-deaf” economic message that ignores the reality voters are living in. More than two-thirds of voters say the economy is bad — and pessimism is growing. Voters are concerned about rising prices for food and gas, shortages of necessities like baby formula, and their retirement accounts.

CBS News: Looking ahead, there is large — and growing — pessimism about the national economy, the stock market and inflation. In fact, outlook on the costs of things gets the most pessimism of the items tested, followed by pessimism about the national economy. 

Most are also pessimistic about their plans for retirement, and on the heels of a stock market downturn, two-thirds of those who have money invested in the market are pessimistic about it.

Biden has even attempted to shift blame to Congress, where his party has majorities in both chambers. Vulnerable Democrats are concerned Biden’s messaging will backfire, costing them even more seats in November. 

Politico: Polling has shown that voters’ top concerns this year are the economy and inflation. Telling them that their day-to-day worries are not supported by macroeconomic data — or, as Biden writes, that “the U.S. is in a better economic position than almost any other country” — is risky and could come across as tone-deaf, something frontline Democrats in swing districts have been concerned about. . . While the president’s op-ed purports to lay out a plan for addressing inflation, a close read shows that he actually seems to be pushing the burden off on others.

Bottom Line: Democrats are running on a record of incompetence and a desperately out-of-touch economic message.