Where Biden Goes From Here
As Air Force One flew home over the Atlantic on Election Night, the televisions scattered throughout the plane were showing a miserable scenario for Joe Biden’s party. No White House staffers ventured back to the press cabin, a fairly routine practice on long flights. The president’s aides appeared grim. A weary Biden returned to the White House close to 2 a.m. and ignored shouted questions from reporters about the early results. The next day, after addressing the nation about children’s eligibility for COVID-19 shots, the president was asked about former Governor Terry McAuliffe’s loss in Virginia. Biden nodded to congressional inaction and the 2022 midterm elections. “People want us to get things done,” he said.
The president grasps the moment’s peril. For months, Biden has sunk his time into negotiations over his massive infrastructure and social-spending package. He let a voting-rights bill languish to preserve a Senate filibuster rule that has become a Republican tool for thwarting his agenda. As Democrats continue to bicker among themselves, Biden’s job-approval. Last week, Republicans showed unexpected strength in two states that Biden won easily in 2020. Frustration inside the Democratic Party is peaking. If the bills had passed before the election, McAuliffe might have prevailed, his close allies told me. Catastrophe has a way of clarifying things, and now Biden seems on the verge of a reset. An immediate course correction may be his last, best shot at salvaging both his presidency and his party’s prospects next year.
