During President Donald Trump’s tenure, the president’s personality has become the biggest political issue. Trump’s primary political goal has often seemed to be to ensure that the domestic conversation is all about him. To an astonishing degree, he succeeded.
But now, under President Biden, that trend has reversed. Biden implicitly campaigned on a promise not to demand as much attention as Trump. will return to normal. But by shrinking presidential terms, he’s breaking the norm these days. Compared to not only Trump but his recent predecessors, Biden has had fewer interviews and more time off.
Biden’s low profile certainly reflects some of his age, acuity and energy level.
Saying Biden is shrinking the presidency doesn’t mean his legislative accomplishments disappear. This was impressive given the small Democratic majority in Congress during his first two years in office. However, it does explain how many of these achievements occurred.
As he stood on the sidelines, they met. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate reached agreement on infrastructure and semiconductor bills, and Biden congratulated them on those agreements. West He said Senators Joe Manchin III of Virginia and Charles E. Schumer of New York agreed on which Democratic priorities would go into the Inflation Reduction Act and which would pass, and Biden agreed. Did.
Voters aren’t putting Biden at the forefront either, which benefits his party. Midterm elections are typically presidential referendums. Those who deny the president’s achievements, even mildly, usually vote to punish their own party. In 2006, when Bush took office, voters who were somewhat against him supported the Democratic candidate in the House of Representatives by 21 points. In his 2014 under the Obama administration, such voters supported the Republican Party by his 22 points. They voted against Trump’s party in 2018 by 29 points.
Voters who were somewhat disapproving of Biden this year leaned slightly towards the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives.
These voters certainly supported some Republicans. For example, Brian Kemp won them in his campaign for re-election as Governor of Georgia. These mixed results, however, indicate that these voters were evaluating specific candidates to run in individual races, rather than voting based on who was in the White House.
The Republican Party is trying to create a backlash against Biden. Their attacks were ineffective, in part because he had downsized the presidency. At the same time, their inefficiency prevents him from becoming a dominant figure in our politics.In his second term as President Bush, Democrats portray him as an incompetent priesthood holder. It moved a lot of voters. Republicans, on the other hand, blended personal and political criticism of Obama. He was a liberal intellectual. Trump was, well, Trump.
The only criticism of Mr. Biden is that he is too old. The message raises questions about his leadership and suitability for the office, but does not generate opposition or anger.It does not discredit his allies or his plans. It may even provoke sympathy.
And, of course, there’s another reason Biden hasn’t dominated politics like every other post-Cold War president. Another character certainly creates political drama and refuses to step off the stage.
The loss of the presidency may be a legacy shared by Biden and Trump. Both extended the formal powers of the presidency. But Trump has proven incapable of wielding those powers effectively. He had a poor track record of getting his aides to follow him and had little impact on the parliamentary agenda. Now Biden is reducing the influence of the presidency in our political culture.
In mid-January, the Republican National Committee sent out a news release noting the number of vacation days he took and the number of press conferences he held. Around the same time, polls showed Biden’s popularity rising. This is probably because Biden’s absence has put the Republican party’s flaws and fights in the spotlight. The secret of Mr. Biden’s success may be hidden in plain sight.
