New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Biden pushes ‘ultra-MAGA’ label on GOP as he defends record
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned voters unhappy with soaring inflation and his stalled domestic agenda against turning power over to “ultra-MAGA” Republicans in the midterm elections as he increasingly tries to cast former President Donald Trump and his adherents as a political foil.
Speaking at the White House less than six months before the elections, Biden acknowledged that he could “taste” the country’s dissatisfaction with Washington, particularly over rising prices, but he sought to channel the anger against the GOP.
“Look, I know you’ve got to be frustrated,” he said. “I know, I can taste it. Frustrated by high prices, by gridlock in Congress, by the time it takes to get anything done.
“The MAGA Republicans are counting on you to be as frustrated by the pace of progress, which they’ve done everything they can to slow down, that you will hand power over to them … so they can enact their extreme agenda,” Biden said.
Biden’s branding of his opposition as “ultra-MAGA Republicans” — a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan — has emerged as a White House trope in recent weeks as the White House hopes for a premidterms reset for Democrats, who face stiff headwinds heading into the November elections. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that “it’s the president’s phrase.”
It is a message seemingly aimed directly at the listless and divided base of Biden’s own party, as Democrats struggle
to keep their voters motivated, as well as at some moderate voters who still recoil at the memory of Trump’s tumultuous tenure in office.
“Look, I think Biden needs to motivate his base ahead of the midterms. And nothing motivates Democrats like voting against Trump,” said GOP strategist Alex Conant. “Trump’s not on the ballot this fall. But Biden is going to try to convince voters that he is.”
Biden, Conant argued, has little choice.
“They’re not going to run on his record. They’re not going to make big, bold policy promises,” he said, so that leaves villainizing the opponent “and the best way to do that is to tie him to Trump.”
For Democrats, who have
unified control of Washington, running against the minority party is risky, as even Biden acknowledged that voters tend to blame those in control for the nation’s state of affairs.
But the White House believes Republicans have thrown them a lifeline, in the form of GOP Sen. Rick Scott’s 11-point plan, released in late February, that would impose a modest tax increase on many of the lowest-paid Americans, while opening the door for cutting Social Security and Medicare.
The plan, meant as a draft governing agenda for when the GOP retakes power, has been rejected by many Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But that is not stopping Biden and
Democrats from trying to tie Republicans to it more broadly. Scott is the chairman of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm and a member of Senate GOP leadership.
“That’s a plan in writing and he’s in the leadership,” Biden said.
Biden argued that the potential tax hikes would make it even harder for families struggling with inflation to afford food, housing and transportation, as prices rise at the fastest pace in four decades.
“I want every American to know that I’m taking inflation very seriously and it’s my top domestic priority,“Biden said.
Scott fired back in comments Tuesday, calling on Biden to resign, and deeming him “unfit” for the job.