As the midterm elections approach, CNN Newsroom host Alisyn Camerota lamented on Friday that voters appear to have forgotten both President Trump and all of President Biden’s alleged accomplishments.
However, even Biden himself does not appear to be running on his record, as Camerota began, “President Biden is reportedly shifting his midterm strategy and expected to go on the attack against Republicans. Sources tell CNN that the mantra inside the White House is quote ‘don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.’”
Camerota was forced to acknowledge, “that can be a tough sell. The latest CNN poll of polls shows 54% of Americans disapproved of the president's job performance and he is losing support of black voters.”
She then introduced CNN commentator Van Jones and asked, “So, the idea of going after Republicans, I guess, to remind Americans who have short term memory loss of what they felt under President Trump. Is that strategy here?”
Jones agreed, “what he wants to point out is that if you replace the Democrats with Republicans, what are you going to probably get? You’re going to get probably Biden impeached, a bunch of Hunter Biden stuff. I mean, it does—it does-- bear pointing out that the main Republican agenda right now just seems to be attacking Biden.”
Ultimately Jones predicted the strategy won’t have much effect because Democrats are disappointed “with where the Biden Administration is.”
A disappointed Camerota then hoped Biden could remind voters just how much he as accomplished:
Well, I want to ask you about that because there are things, accomplishments that President Biden could lean into. Here are just a few, the $1.9 trillion COVID relief deal, which obviously helped so many states. The $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, that was hard to get passed, but they did, it creates jobs. The unemployment now at 3.6%, down from 6.2 when he took office. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed to the Supreme Court. So, I mean voters have forgotten that stuff. Like, why not lean into that stuff?
Jones didn’t disagree, but reiterated this previous position that Biden also has to point out “what the other people would do that’s bad” because Biden has to deal with the fact “there was some overpromising and underdelivering, especially last summer.”
That is problem for Biden and it will not be helped out by all of that spending Camerota mentioned as voters worry about inflation.
This segment was sponsored by Safelite.
Here is a transcript for the April 29 show:
CNN Newsroom with Alisyn Camerota and Victor Blackwell
4/29/2022
2:29 PM ET
ALISYN CAMEROTA: President Biden is reportedly shifting his midterm strategy and expected to go on the attack against Republicans. Sources tell CNN that the mantra inside the White House is quote “don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.” But, that can be a tough sell. The latest CNN poll of polls shows 54% of Americans disapproved of the president's job performance and he is losing support of black voters. CNN political commentator Van Jones joins me now. Van, great to you have here. So, the idea of going after Republicans, I guess, to remind Americans who have short term memory loss of what they felt under President Trump. Is that strategy here?
VAN JONES: Well, I think—I think-- what he wants to point out is that if you replace the Democrats with Republicans, what are you going to probably get? You’re going to get probably Biden impeached, a bunch of Hunter Biden stuff. I mean, it does—it does-- bear pointing out that the main Republican agenda right now just seems to be attacking Biden. And not helping on the economy. So, I think that's, you know, reasonable to do, but is it going to work? I think that's the question. And I think that you got a bunch of Democratic voters that already know Republicans are not their favorite choice, but they are disappointed right now with where the Biden Administration is and you got to fix that.
CAMEROTA: Well, I want to ask you about that because there are things, accomplishments that President Biden could lean into. Here are just a few, the $1.9 trillion COVID relief deal, which obviously helped so many states. The $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, that was hard to get passed, but they did, it creates jobs. The unemployment now at 3.6%, down from 6.2 when he took office. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed to the Supreme Court. So, I mean voters have forgotten that stuff. Like, why not lean into that stuff?
JONES: Yeah, look, I think elections are about contrast. I think you got to say what the other people would do that’s bad and what you’ve done that’s good. I think where, what you're going to have to deal with at this point is that there was some overpromising and underdelivering, especially last summer. You know, Build Back Better, you’re going to have all this stuff, you’re going to get voting rights, you’re going to get police reform and then people say where’s the beef on the last round of promises? The first round he delivered on, but then he made a bunch of other promises and didn't. So, this is kind of like “oops.”
