President Biden’s blistering attacks on Republicans in recent weeks may have targeted pro-Trump lawmakers, but his tough rhetoric also appears to be creating some collateral damage among moderate members.
Centrist Republicans who are more in the mood to reach bipartisan agreement told Fox News Digital that they are not fans of Biden’s attacks, and said the strategy will make it much more difficult for them to serve as a buffer in the House.
“He’s become the divider-in-chief,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a centrist Nebraska Republican who backed Biden’s infrastructure package last year. “It’s one thing to disagree on policy, but when you start labeling people as semi-fascists, racists and threats to democracy it makes it hard for them to want to work together in the future.”
Biden’s challenge in 2023 will be to find allies in the House, especially if Republicans take control. A GOP takeover will mean new names and new faces and support for an aggressive agenda of fighting back against Biden’s policies and investigating his administration. In contrast, Biden’s decades as a senator will make the upper chamber far more approachable for the president, even if Republicans take control there.
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Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland with GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, on Aug. 10, 2022 in Omaha.
(An America United )
While some middle-ground Republicans have the potential to help Biden build a bridge to the House, Biden’s recent attacks may have closed that door.
“Unfortunately, his blatant disdain for Republicans will make it difficult to advance priorities every American shares, like strengthening our economy and lowering gas prices,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra, an Iowa Republican who ousted far-right Congressman Steve King in a primary last cycle.
In recent weeks, Biden has attacked Republicans on the campaign trail as “semi-fascists” and threats to democracy.
Biden has painted the upcoming midterm elections as a battle for the soul of the nation.
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“We’re seeing now either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA agenda,” Biden said at the rally in Maryland last month. “America must choose. You must choose.”
While Biden has stressed that he does not believe all Republicans are enthralled with the MAGA ideology, the caveat has done little to smooth over the attacks.
Moderate and centrist Republicans say that kind of talk is disappointing given the president’s repeated lip service to civility during the 2020 campaign.
“President Biden promised he would heal the dangerous divisions plaguing our nation. He deliberately went back on his word,” said Rep. Dave Joyce, an Ohio Republican who is slated to lead the moderate Republican Governance Group caucus next year. “With the upcoming election likely to result in a divided government, the president should be carving a viable path forward to effectively work with Congress on behalf of all Americans, not attacking those who didn’t vote for him.”
In recent weeks, Biden has attacked Republicans on the campaign trail as "semi-fascists" and threats to democracy.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Administration officials say the president’s rhetoric has only been geared towards a segment of the GOP base, not all Republicans.
“President Biden has always stressed how eager he is to continue working across the aisle to make progress for American families,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates. “At the same time, he has joined leading conservative voices like Judge Michael Luttig and Liz Cheney in denouncing violence, threats, and attempts to override the will of voters in elections – which we should all reject, regardless of politics.”
Working across the aisle can be fraught with political risk as primary voters place an increasing emphasis on partisan purity. Lawmakers increasingly worry about compromises that are deemed too watered down or too much of a giveaway by hard-line ideologues.
That dynamic was evident last year when 13 Republicans crossed party lines to support Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. While the bill spent money on things that everyone uses, such as roads and bridges, the legislation was lambasted by both sides.
Far-left Democrats derided the package as doing too little to combat climate change, while the majority of Republicans complained the bill was too expensive. Bacon, who said he would not let the president’s rhetoric deter him from trying to find common ground, acknowledged to Fox News Digital that his vote for the infrastructure bill was a political risk.
Biden’s challenge in 2023 will be to find allies in the House, especially if Republicans take control.
(Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“I supported the infrastructure bill because it was good for the country, not because of Joe Biden,” said Bacon. “But that doesn’t mean some of us didn’t go out on a ledge for it, some even faced primary challenges over it … and now we watch the president attack half the population for some short-term political gain.”
