July 1, 2022: Why Dems are struggling with Biden

POLITICO Playbook Daily Briefing

If you want to get a full sense of why so many Democrats seem to be frustrated with President Joe Biden at the moment, here’s one piece you need to read: “Is Biden a Man Out of Time?” by The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein.

Whether the specific issue is abortion rights, court reform, voting rights, the filibuster, or the DOJ’s investigation into Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, “[m]any Democrats share a sense that … Biden and his team have been following, not leading. And that tendency points to an enduring question about Biden, who was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and was shaped by a clubbier, more cooperative Washington. Can he be the inspirational leader his party needs to counter the aggressive moves by Republicans in Congress and in the states, together with their appointees on the Supreme Court, to reverse long-held civil rights and even threaten democracy itself?”

Listen to POLITICO Playbook Deep Dive: Why haven’t there been more Cassidy Hutchinsons?

Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.