Jen Psaki pointed out that the media constantly underestimates Joe Biden, and so far they have been constantly wrong.
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Psaki said in part:
Here are few headlines in the negotiations leading up to the infrastructure deal Remember these headlines? When will Biden get in the game. Does Biden need a higher gear? Some Democrats think so. Those are not from recent months. Those are from the weeks before Joe Biden won the presidency in defeat Donald Trump.
Or how about these from the weeks before the midterm elections? Why Biden’s closing argument is worrisome to Democrats and couldn’t miss the mark with midterm voters. Help or hindrance? Biden takes a backseat as Trump goes all in on midterms. We all remember how that turned out, Democrats kept the Senate and nearly kept the House. Call me crazy, but maybe just maybe he is onto something here. Maybe people do not want a frenetic Twitter presidencies. Maybe they do not want a circus. Maybe getting things done is not boring it isn’t as vanilla some recent analysts have suggested. Maybe governing is about making people lives better, or trying to.
In my experience from working for him for nearly two years, it is not really a problem for Joe Biden that he is underestimated. It is kind of a motivator for him. But the big lesson from this week is not about the future of bipartisan deal-making. Do not hold your breath on that. It’s that people should underestimate Joe Biden at their own risk.
The media underestimation of Joe Biden has been as constant as their obsession with a carnival barker who keeps blowing into town to sell them snake oil even though he is not wearing pants.
The media told the country that Biden wasn’t going to win the Democratic nomination. He did. Then they decided that he couldn’t beat Donald Trump. Biden did that too. As president, the media and pundit class all said that Biden couldn’t get big bipartisan deals, but that is exactly what the President did. Now, as we head into the 2024 election, the media is saying that at 80 years old Biden can’t win a second term.
At some point, the ‘experts’ are going to realize that every time they bet against Joe Biden, they lose.
It hasn’t happened yet. Maybe they will catch on after November 2024.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
