President Joe Biden got a late Christmas gift with the Republican chaos electing a House Speaker.
On Wednesday (January 4), the President described the election of McCarthy — which took 15 attempts to secure the Speaker’s gavel — as “embarrassing,” saying it reflected poorly on the country.
But Democratic strategists and White House officials believe the disarray is just what the party — and the President — needs to emphasize contrast between Democrats and Republicans and easy fodder for the President as he prepares a reelection campaign.
Co-founder of Third Way — a centrist think thank —Matt Bennett, asserted, “When your foe is lighting themselves on fire, don’t hand them a hose.”
Bennett insisted that the White House keeping its distance from the chaos that unfolded on the House floor was “smart,” suggesting the White House could build a narrative that GOP-Led initiatives in the lower chamber are “irresponsible.”
He added that it was easy to label the mess in the House as “irresponsible” and enabled the White House to use the same classification when the House GOP investigates Hunter Biden or attempts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Going forward, everything the House GOP does could be branded “irresponsible” because of the House Speaker election fiasco.
Despite finally securing the Speaker’s gavel in the early hours of Saturday morning, the protracted fight between McCarthy and a small group of conservatives tarnished the GOP’s House majority.
The week of bad publicity highlighted the division within the GOP while amplifying Democrats’ unity.
