On her MSNBC show early Wednesday afternoon, host Andrea Mitchell hoped that the war in Ukraine “at least is helping the Democrats” politically heading into the midterm elections. Washington Post deputy national editor Phil Rucker agreed with her partisan assessment and touted how President Biden was trying to falsely use the conflict as a “scapegoat” for high gas prices.
“And I want to quickly ask both of you about midterms because we have seen the President’s declining poll ratings stabilize and even edge up with the way he’s responded on Ukraine,”Mitchell shared this with her guests during the 12:01 p.m. ET hour. ET hour. After acknowledging inflation and “other problems” facing the Democrats, she eagerly wondered: “Do you think that this at least is helping the Democrats and helping the White House as they head into the midterms?”
Rucker gushed: “You know, it certainly is giving Biden an opportunity to be the strong leader that he campaigned as and that he hopes to appear to be in the first year of his presidency.”The PostThe reporter applauded then the dishonest spin by the White House trying to put months of inflation, high gas prices and a war in Ukraine on weeks-old.
Importantly, Biden has the opportunity to blame some of the rise in gas prices on Russia and Putin. This is a key issue for Democrats. As the midterm elections approach, Biden has an opportunity to use this scapegoat as a campaign tool.
Amna Nawaz (PBS NewsHour) was quick to agree with Rucker “Yeah, I think Phil’s spot on. Look, I think war has a way of refocusing everyone’s attention and priorities.” She promoted how “about half of all Americans approve of the way that Biden has handled the war in Ukraine so far” and argued:
This is a terrible response to ending the war in Afghanistan. All of his foreign policy credentials were being questioned. This president was he able to lead the world? The Russian invasion of Ukraine changed everything.
It was claimed by her that “Americans are seeing the President in a new light” and “seem to be backing what the President is doing.”
Back on Monday, MSNBC lamented that Biden was not getting a “Zelensky bounce” in the polls amid war in Europe and now Mitchell’s show is trying to figure out how the war in Ukraine is “helping the Democrats.” The left-wing cable channel never hesitates to push craven politics, even during a deadly international crisis.
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The transcript from the discussion of March 16, 2009 is available here:
12:00 PM ET
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ANDREA MITCHELL: And I want to quickly ask both of you about midterms because we have seen the President’s declining poll ratings stabilize and even edge up with the way he’s responded on Ukraine. But he still has inflation, the Fed, you know, is going to raise rates today, and you know, he’s got other problems as well. Phil, would you like to be the first one? Are you positive that the Democrats will benefit from this?
PHIL RUCKER [THE WASHINGTON POST DEPUTY NATIONAL EDITOR]Biden is now able to present himself as the strong leader he campaigned to be and to make a good impression in his first year. The issue of inflation has been a problem for Democrats for months. This war allows Biden to put some of the blame for high gas prices, and other consumer costs around the nation, on Putin and Russia. As the midterm elections approach, Biden has an opportunity to use this scapegoat as a campaign tool.
MITCHELL : Amna? Your take on it?
AMNA NAWAZ [PBS NEWSHOUR CHIEF CORRESPONDENT]: Yeah, I think Phil’s spot on. Look, I think war has a way of refocusing everyone’s attention and priorities. And right now when you look at where the poll numbers are, most Americans – about half Americans, I should say, not most – about half of all Americans approve of the way that Biden has handled the war in Ukraine so far.
This is a terrible response to ending the war in Afghanistan. All of his foreign policy credentials were being questioned. This president was able to lead the world on the international stage. Everything has been changed by the Russian invasion.
Americans now see President Obama in a whole new way. Whether or not that does lead to more support in the midterms, we don’t know. We will have to see. There’s a long time before then. However, for the moment most Americans appear to support President Trump’s actions.
(…)
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