President Joe Biden gave a rare solo news conference Wednesday afternoon — his first in months — at the White House.
Even his biggest media cheerleaders felt a reset was overdue after arguably the least successful first presidential year since Bill Clinton nearly three decades ago, and perhaps in generations.
During the opening minutes of his partisan talking points, Biden focused on a desperate pitch for the full “Build Back Better” plan, even as its current iteration has failed.
The president was asked early during the question-and-answer session: “Your top two legislative priorities are stalled. You are only guaranteed control of Washington for one more year before the midterms. Do you need to be more realistic and scale down these priorities in order to get something passed?”
“No. I didn’t overpromise but I have, probably, outperformed what anybody thought would happen,” Biden stunningly quipped back.
A major headline to analyze from a nearly two-hour event was Biden downplaying Russia’s military positioning on Ukraine’s border, suggesting a “minor incursion” by Vladimir Putin might not be met with a response.
Given a chance for clean up later, Biden said, “It depends on what he does.”
The Ukrainian government already expressed understandable indignation Wednesday night over these remarks, while White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki attempted to minimize the damage.
Biden highlighted a low unemployment rate but did not note that it’s occurring mostly in red states that avoided draconian mandates. He touched on inflation, pivoting to a socialist critique that “a handful of giant companies dominate the market.”
Biden said we should not focus on schools that are still closed two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. The open schools are in spite of his teachers union allies’ most nefarious efforts.
The president continued to espouse the blatant lie that Republicans are trying to prevent “minorities” from voting.
He asked to hear one thing Republicans stand for but also admitted he didn’t reach out to any Republicans ahead of his push to federalize the nation’s election laws.
The GOP’s current job is opposing a destructive left-wing agenda in a Democrat-controlled Washington.
Further losing his brand as a unifier, Biden got defensive toward the end of the afternoon, when he unprofessionally abused RealClearPolitics’ Philip Wegmann after a straightforward question on the president’s repugnant George Wallace line from last week.
“Look [at] what I said. Go back and read what I said,” Biden ranted. “I assume you got into journalism because you like to write.”
In a shocking portion, the president argued that upcoming elections could be illegitimate if Democrats don’t get their way on current radical proposals.
President Biden doesn't give a straight answer when asked if he believes the midterm election will be "fair" and "legitimate" if Democrat voting rights bills aren't passed. pic.twitter.com/fjKoGJvvTF
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) January 19, 2022
“Oh yeah, I think it could easily be illegitimate,” Biden said. “The increase of the prospect of it being illegitimate is in direct proportion to us not being able to get these reforms passed.”
This second attempt from Biden on whether the election will be legit is even worse.
"Oh, yeah, I think it could easily be illegitimate … The increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is in proportion to not being able to get these reforms passed." pic.twitter.com/nCyuAWSMXm
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 19, 2022
While there was no discussion on the southern border fiasco or surging violent crime, one reporter asked about the administration’s egregious surrender in Afghanistan.
“I make no apologies for what I did,” Biden pushed back.
Asked finally how he’ll win back moderate voters, the president said, “I don’t believe the polls.”
But polls are consistent and still matter.
A major shift among voters toward Republicans is occurring, since the Democrat administration’s response to COVID-19 is inept; their legislative agenda appears doomed; inflation soars; schools in liberal locales remain shuttered; foreign policy continues in disarray; and the southern border crisis and urban crime continue unabated.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
