Liberal journalists at MSNBC were celebrating President Biden’s speech before Congress last night that embraced his “ambitious” and “progressive” agenda. Host Chris Hayes and his panel hailed Biden’s ability to appear moderate while pushing forward far-left policy. One NBC reporter even deemed this the Democrat's “superpower.”
Hayes took over the post-speech analysis during the midnight Eastern hour. He derided Senator Ted Cruz’s “odious” tweet calling Biden, “boring but radical,” before saying essentially, he agreed with him.
He gushed that Biden was “non-threatening” because he was a white man so he could turn America into the left’s socialist utopia and “do it in a way that sounded as American as apple pie:”
But I will say this, Cruz is getting at something real here. Because Joe Biden has been in office for so long, I'm partly frankly because of his race and his gender. In fact, he looks almost like all previous American presidents except Barack Obama. Because Joe Biden has practiced in speaking ways that sound non threatening he can lay out this incredibly ambitious agenda, a progressive agenda that would bring America in line with other developed democracies in terms of the capacity and scope of it social safety net and he can do it in a way that sounded as American as apple pie.
Later on, Hayes’ panel of liberal journalists were mocking Republicans for supposedly making no headway with the American people in attacking Biden’s big government, massive stimulus and infrastructure bills. Echoing Hayes’ earlier comment, New York Times reporter Elaina Plott was thrilled by Biden delivering the “most progressive address since LBJ” without “giving Republicans a lot to latch onto.” She added, “Joe Biden’s brilliance in some ways is that he’s kind of boring, and not going to excite a lot of people.”
Hayes agreed, going back to harp on Biden as a white man again. “He's a white man in a country that mostly elects white men as presidents,” he noted, before suggesting that sexism and racism from the Republican base is why Republicans couldn’t attack Biden as effectively:
Well, it’s not just that he’s boring, I think. He's a white man in a country that mostly elects white men as presidents. And the skeleton key to American politics is Dave Weigel’s quote from the t-shirt vendor at CPAC that says he's still moving Obama and Hillary merchandise, and he cannot sell Joe Biden t-shirts. That's basically -- all of American politics at a certain level is contained in that, both in ways I think the Biden folks are leaning into.
Seizing that theme, NBC News political reporter Sahil Kapur praised Biden’s “superpower” was making his radical agenda appear moderate:
While President Obama had this knack for making moderate programs like the Affordable Care Act sound exciting and revolutionary. Biden superpower is exact opposite. He makes massive multi trillion dollar FDR size liberal policy sound moderate and middle of the road, just by the way he talks about them...
The media will never admit Biden’s real “superpower” is having a friendly media who willingly covers up your negative polling, family scandals and highly controversial actions from those in your own cabinet.
Read the relevant transcript below:
MSNBC
Presidential Address to Congress: Address Analysis With Chris Hayes
4/29/2021
CHRIS HAYES: [Ted]Cruz later tweeted about the moment in his typically odious fashion with the hashtag boring but radical. Now I would not really agree with either of those terms, Boring or radical. But I will say this, Cruz is getting at something real here. Because Joe Biden has been in office for so long, and partly frankly because of his race and his gender….He looks almost like almost all previous American presidents except Barack Obama. Because Joe Biden is practiced in speaking in ways that sound non-threatening he could lay out this incredibly ambitious agenda, a progressive agenda that would bring America in line with other developed democracies in terms of the capacity and scope of it social safety net and he can do it in a way that sounded as American as apple pie.
….
ELAINA PLOTT, NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: ... And Joe Biden's I think real strength in his speech tonight was that he, you know, delivered what was really the most progressive address, I would say, at a joint session. Maybe since LBJ. I would go so far as to say that.And yet he packages it in such a way, that he doesn't give Republicans a lot to latch onto. It's very difficult, even for Republicans, to vilify what he was saying about police reform. Which theoretically should be the issue that should light to the biggest fire under them.Joe Biden’s brilliance in some ways is that its kind of boring, and not going to excite a lot of people.
CHRIS HAYES: Well, it’s not just that he’s boring, I think. He's a white man in a country that mostly elects white men as presidents. And the skeleton key to American politics is Dave Weigel’s quote from the t-shirt vendor at CPAC that says he's still moving Obama and Hillary merchandise, and he cannot sell Joe Biden t-shirts. That's basically -- all of American politics at a certain level is contained in that, both in ways I think the Biden folks are leaning into.
NBC NEWS NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, SAHIL KAPUR: Chris, I've been thinking more and more about this recently. While President Obama had this knack for making moderate programs like the Affordable Care Act sound exciting and revolutionary. Biden’s superpower is the exact opposite. He makes massive multi-trillion dollar FDR size liberal policy sound moderate and middle of the road, just by the way he talks about them.” And I think that's a big part of where he's going with all of this. I saw a major distinction between the way he talked about his economic program. He talked about those like he was at the driver seat. That he had public opinion on his side. He has a path to getting approval in congress. Because there's no filibuster on that. But there is a filibuster on cultural issues like police reform, gun control, immigration….
