Washington Post opinion columnist Dana Milbank said Democrats need to give President Joe Biden a “break” in an op-ed published Wednesday.
“Here’s the deal, Democrats: You need to give Joe Biden a break,” Milbank wrote, lambasting Democrats for “complaining about the president’s failure to channel outrage about mass shootings, the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and MAGA Republicans’ assaults on democracy.”
Milbank said despite reports from The Post, CNN and Politico detailing frustrations from Democrats over Biden’s alleged inaction, Biden has been forceful in his saying “exactly that which he is accused of avoiding.”
Milbank compared California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom running an ad in Florida attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis to Biden calling DeSantis’ parental bill of rights legislation “hateful.”
The opinion columnist then lauded Biden for comparing Republicans to segregationists back in January when Congress was debating voting legislation that would federalize elections, among other things.
“Biden, who frequently warns of the dire threats, was just a few months ago criticized for being too hot when he said of those restricting voting rights: ‘Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor?'”
Milbank then applauded Biden for speaking out in opposition of the ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Those saying Biden has generally failed to attack Republican extremism overlook months of heat: saying ‘this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history,’ denouncing ‘the big lie being told by the former president and may Republicans who fear his wrath,’ condemning the ‘unconscionable’ obstruction by Senate Republicans, and lambasting Republicans’ ‘ultra-MAGA’ agenda.”
U.S. President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One upon his departure for Cleveland, Ohio, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Milbank then shifted the blame to fellow members of the press, saying “the fratricide is likely stoked by the press, which likes a ‘Dems-in-disarray’ story and would love a presidential primary.” (RELATED: Biden Reportedly Trying To Convince Democrats To Back Him For 2024 Run)
The press was not the only one to catch the slack for Biden, with Milbank then focusing his efforts on the “fault of Joe Manchin … and of a broken political system that protects minority rule.”
“This Goldilocks tale about Biden’s too-hot and too-cold rhetoric needs to be put to bed,” Milbank ended his piece.
The Post recently reported that “in the view of many distraught Democrats, the country is facing a full-blown crisis on a range of fronts, and Biden seems unable or unwilling to respond with appropriate force.”
CNN reported that “Democrats worry the lack of decisions and authority are deepening their own midterm problems and feeding a sense that the President couldn’t truly handle the extra complications of a run for reelection in 2024 – and along the way, reinforcing narratives that he’s an old man not fit for the moment.”