As Republicans tear each other apart, Joe Biden prepares a “big” speech on the need to help Ukraine: The 80-year-old Democrat, who is fighting for 2024, sees in the chaos of the opposing camp an opportunity to strengthen his own presidential status .
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“We must change the toxic atmosphere in Washington,” said the American president on Wednesday in the White House. “We have deep differences, but we must stop viewing each other as enemies.”
The day after the unprecedented firing of a House leader at the initiative of a small group of far-right elected officials, Joe Biden clearly wanted to put himself above the fray.
However, that did not stop him from admitting for the first time some concern about the future of aid to Ukraine.
“This concerns me, but I know that there are a majority of elected officials in the House and Senate of both parties who have said they support funding aid to Ukraine,” Joe Biden said when speaking after the Chaos was asked, which actually paralyzes the House of Commons.
“Big Speech”
He promised a “big speech” to demonstrate that it is “extremely important” to continue to provide military and financial support to Ukraine, a decision that falls to Congress under its budgetary authority.
Joe Biden “just has to show that he is a strong president and let the Republican bloodbath continue.” Since he can’t do anything about it, he might as well let the Democratic camp take advantage of it,” analyzes Robert Rowland, a professor at the University of Kansas and political communications expert.
This attitude applies not only to aid to Ukraine, but also to more specific questions of economic and social policy.
While the fate of “Speaker” Kevin McCarthy was unfolding at the Capitol on Tuesday, Joe Biden did not appear, but the White House communicated extensively about one of its biggest projects, namely reducing the exorbitant health care costs for Americans.
On Wednesday, he announced new measures to cancel student debt, an issue close to the heart of the Democrat who, despite his age, hopes to convince America’s youth to vote for him next year.
“Robust”
But if he wants to stand out from his Republican opponents – whether parliamentarians or Donald Trump in the middle of a civil trial in New York – the American president must “make sure to always appear confident and robust,” warns Robert Rowland.
He recalls that the former Republican president, who is also running in 2024, “appears much more stable and in better health” in public opinion than Joe Biden.
Whether it’s finding a new “speaker” for the House of Representatives or negotiating a new budget – otherwise the state is in danger of running out of funding on November 17 – Joe Biden has decided not to participate in the negotiations and is betting on it that the Republican Party would bear all the political consequences.
But will this strategy remain tenable as the United States faces an extended federal budget shutdown? What happens if the US Congress is unable to provide additional funding to support Ukraine?
Without repeating his usual assurances that the United States would continue to support Kiev “for as long as necessary,” the American president instead stressed that it was “in the country’s interest” for Ukraine to succeed in the face of the Russian invasion.
“It is critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our promises,” said Joe Biden, aware of the risk of fatigue not only in Congress but in American public opinion more broadly.
The Democrat would not say how long the United States could continue its aid if Congress does not pass a new package as the White House requested.
Joe Biden only hinted that there were other financing methods without going through the parliamentary process, but he did not provide details.