Harwood: You MUST 'Stop and Recognize' the Achievements of Democrats and Biden

August 8th, 2022 3:18 PM

With congressional Democrats ramming through yet another massive spending bill, which honest economists say will worsen inflation and raise taxes on average Americans, the liberal media are fiercely gaslighting the American people to believe President Biden and the Democrats were their saviors. And on Monday’s At This Hour, CNN White House correspondent John Harwood proclaimed that we all need to “stop and recognize the breadth of” all the achievements of Biden and the Democrats.

Leading into the segment, host Kate Bolduan delightfully announced that the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act adds to a really sudden reversal of fortune for President Biden, who can now celebrate several legacy-defining victories in his first two years in office.”

Being extremely presumptuous with her wish casting, Bolduan seemingly wanted to talk about how “with these” wins the left was sitting pretty in the midterms. But she caught herself, instead wondering: “will these wins be enough to help Democrats avoid what has been feared in the coming -- coming up in the midterms, now three months away.”

With Harwood joining her from the White House grounds, he instructed CNN viewers that they needed to pay their tribute to the left. “First of all, it's important to stop and recognize the breadth of accomplishments that Democrats and President Biden have achieved,” he declared.

 

 

He then chided the media for supposedly getting ahead of their skis and reporting that Biden’s tenure as president has been a bust:

You know, one of the dangers for all of us who talk about politics for of a living is that we write the review before the play is finished. And so, there had been a story that had taken root that Democrats were ineffective and President Biden isn't getting anything done. Now, he has both – bipartisan achievements on guns, on infrastructure, on semiconductor investment, on veterans' health care. And also big partisan breakthroughs. The American rescue plan, of course, last year and now this largest ever investment by the U.S. government in fighting climate change.

“Those are big substantive achievements. Those are things Democrats are in politics to do. And they are now doing them,” he boasted.

Harwood also tried to buoy Bolduan’s hopes for the midterms the best he could. “Now, will it help them in the midterms? Sure, it will help them. It will convey an aura of success around Democrats in the White House. It will – has the potential for expanding the enthusiasm of young people on climate and older people on those Medicare provisions,” he said.

He did say it likely wouldn’t be enough to help Democrats hold onto the House, but it could help in the Senate:

But will it be enough to avoid losing control of congress? That's a different story. The historical tides are very powerful here. Republicans only need a handful of seats to gain the House. And the historical pattern is that many more are usually gained by the party that is not in power in the White House. Senate’s a more competitive situation. The President has a solid chance of holding control of the Senate, especially because of some of those shaky Republican candidates.

“That would be in and of itself an achievement for his last two years. It would let him get judges through, get nominees confirmed,” he touted.

This gratuitous praise for Biden and the Democrats was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from ADT and The Farmer’s Dog. Their contact information is linked.

The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:

CNN’s At This Hour
August 8, 2022
11:03:47 a.m. Eastern

(…)

KATE BOLDUAN: The passage of, as Jessica was laying out very well, of what they're calling the Inflation Reduction Act adds to a really sudden reversal of fortune for President Biden, who can now celebrate several legacy-defining victories in his first two years in office. With these -- will these wins be enough to help Democrats avoid what has been feared in the coming -- coming up in the midterms, now three months away.

Let's get to CNN's John Harwood. He’s been looking at this. He’s live at the White House for us at this hour. John, what do you see in this?

JOHN HARWOOD: Well Kate, first of all, it's important to stop and recognize the breadth of accomplishments that Democrats and President Biden have achieved.

You know, one of the dangers for all of us who talk about politics for of a living is that we write the review before the play is finished. And so, there had been a story that had taken root that Democrats were ineffective and President Biden isn't getting anything done. Now, he has both – bipartisan achievements on guns, on infrastructure, on semiconductor investment, on veterans' health care. And also big partisan breakthroughs. The American rescue plan, of course, last year and now this largest ever investment by the U.S. government in fighting climate change.

Those are big substantive achievements. Those are things Democrats are in politics to do. And they are now doing them. And some of them with Republican cooperation.

Now, will it help them in the midterms? Sure, it will help them. It will convey an aura of success around Democrats in the White House. It will – has the potential for expanding the enthusiasm of young people on climate and older people on those Medicare provisions.

But will it be enough to avoid losing control of congress? That's a different story. The historical tides are very powerful here. Republicans only need a handful of seats to gain the House. And the historical pattern is that many more are usually gained by the party that is not in power in the White House. Senate’s a more competitive situation. The President has a solid chance of holding control of the Senate, especially because of some of those shaky Republican candidates.

That would be in and of itself an achievement for his last two years. It would let him get judges through, get nominees confirmed. So, certainly, the White House is feeling more confident, as are Democrats now that they've gotten these things are done and are on the cusp of getting the Inflation Reduction Act done, even though it's not going to reduce inflation all that much. It's going to do other things.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, John. Thank you.