During a White House press conference Wednesday afternoon, President Biden was treated to softballs from his boosters in the press corps who urged him to diagnose problems in the Republican Party and wondered how he could ever possibly work with the GOP. Later that evening and into Thursday morning, NBC and CBS eagerly seized on Biden’s lecturing as proof of a “Republican civil war.”
“President Biden you said earlier you don’t understand Republicans. What does it say about them if they oust Liz Cheney from leadership for telling the truth about the election?,” asked CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins when the President took a few questions from reporters following an address on the pandemic response.
Biden happily played political pundit as he reveled in the division among his opponents:
Look, um, it seems as though the Republican Party is trying to identify what it stands for, and they’re in the midst of a significant sort of mini revolution going on in the Republican Party....We need a two-party system. It’s not healthy to have a one-party system. And I think the Republicans are further away from trying to figure out who they are and what they stand for than I thought they would be at this point.
Another reporter then questioned how the President could work with the GOP: “Mr. President, Mitch McConnell said that he is 100% focused on stopping this administration. You’ve spoken about your relationship with him in the past, do you still think you can work with him when he says things like that?”
Biden assured: “Look, he said that in our last administration, Barack, he was going to stop everything. And I was able to get a lot done with him.”
Not surprisingly, broadcast networks like NBC and CBS pounced on the chance to use Biden’s remarks as a cudgel against Republicans. On NBC’s Nightly News Wednesday evening, White House correspondent Kristen Welker touted “President Biden weighing in” on debates within the GOP, followed by a soundbite of Biden declaring: “They’re in the midst of a significant sort of mini revolution going on in the Republican Party.”
On Thursday’s Today show, Welker’s colleague Peter Alexander bragged that GOP infighting was distracting from Republican efforts to win back control of Congress in the 2022 midterms: “The Republican civil war coming at a time when many thought they’d be united to win back Washington, with Democrats holding Congress by a slim majority and President Biden moving forward with massive spending proposals in one of the most sweeping liberal agendas in years.”
He highlighted: “The President saying the GOP appears to be in the midst of a mini revolution.” A clip ran of Biden arguing: “ I think the Republicans are further away from trying to figure out who they are and what that stand for than what I thought they would be at this point.”
“And tonight, even the current occupant of the White House, Joe Biden, is speaking out about what’s shaping up to be a great big struggle inside the Grand Old Party,” anchor Norah O’Donnell giddily announced on Wednesday’s CBS Evening News. On Thursday’s CBS This Morning, co-host Anthony Mason emphasized: “Nancy Cordes is at the White House, where the party squabble is getting attention from President Biden.”
In the report that followed, Cordes began by relying on Biden’s talking points:
CORDES: Now, President Biden himself is weighing in, saying the GOP appears to be locked in a struggle over its very identity.
JOE BIDEN: Significant sort of mini revolution going on in the Republican Party.
CORDES: That is how President Biden framed the GOP fight over Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
BIDEN: It seems as though the Republican Party is trying to identify what it stands for.
First, the left-wing media invite President Biden to tell them what’s wrong with the Republican Party, then reporters turn around and pretend like Biden’s comments are some kind of expert political analysis rather than self-serving drivel.
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Here is a transcript of the questions put to Biden during the May 5 press conference:
2:50 PM ET
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KAITLAN COLLINS [CNN]: President Biden you said earlier you don’t understand Republicans. What does it say about them if they oust Liz Cheney from leadership for telling the truth about the election?
JOE BIDEN: Look, um, it seems as though the Republican Party is trying to identify what it stands for, and they’re in the midst of a significant sort of mini revolution going on in the Republican Party. I’ve been a Democrat for a long time. We’ve gone through periods where we’ve had internal fights and disagreements, I don’t ever remember any like this. And so as one of you said, and I’m not embarrassed by identifying them – as one of you said on national television last night, “We badly need a Republican Party.” We need a two-party system. It’s not healthy to have a one-party system. And I think the Republicans are further away from trying to figure out who they are and what they stand for than I thought they would be at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, Mitch McConnell said that he is 100% focused on stopping this administration. You’ve spoken about your relationship with him in the past, do you still think you can work with him when he says things like that?
BIDEN: Look, he said that in our last administration, Barack, he was going to stop everything. And I was able to get a lot done with him. Again, look, uh, everything I’m proposing that be done to generate economic growth, employment, and put us in a position where we can out-compete any other country in the world with research and development and moving ahead, I pay for.
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