Republican representatives and senators have for years dodged questions from congressional reporters when former President Trump said or did something outrageous, or at least made the news.
“I don’t read the tweets,” was former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)’s famous response when a reporter grilled him about comments the former president had posted on Twitter.
Some people may give canned answers, or they may avoid answering altogether.
What they’re thinking: For many Democrats, silence speaks volumes when it comes to the Biden issue.
“Call my office” is a line Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, still repeats.
Some didn’t even appear before reporters. But if you speak candidly to Republicans from 2016 to 2022 or so, many will tell you candidly that they didn’t like or support former President Trump. But they had to juggle politics in public.
Suddenly, Democrats in Congress face a similar dilemma. Most Democrats love President Biden. But privately, many believe he is no longer up to the job. Significantly, the two Democrats who hold key foreign policy posts, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, have both called on Biden to resign. But many others are left in a state of political purgatory, even as their own political futures depend on it.
So they make vague statements about President Biden, or declare, “I support Joe,” without directly endorsing his candidacy.
US President Joe Biden was photographed in front of the Capitol building. (Getty Images)
That was the case recently when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York used the phrase three times in less than a minute, even when answering a variety of questions that had nothing to do with who he was hanging out with.
The art of deflection is a tool.
The other option is to not answer the question at all.
That was the case on Thursday when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse walked from the Capitol to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), where aides and staff close to President Biden were discussing the state of the race and the campaign with panicked Democratic senators.
I asked Whitehouse what he wanted to hear from the session.
“I’m not going to discuss the meeting,” Whitehouse replied.
“Are you worried about the president?” I asked.
Journalist’s Note: Congressional backlash
“I’m not going to discuss this issue until after the meeting,” Whitehouse replied.
“What’s the level of tension you’re hearing from Democrats right now?” I asked.
“I can’t answer that either,” Whitehouse said.
As we walked through the blistering 95-degree sunshine of a cloudless Washington city, I continued to pepper the White House with questions.
“Why are they being so vague on this? Are they worried? Would people be more willing to talk about it if they were fully supportive of Trump?” I asked.
“Ah, that’s right. you “I’m not a Democrat,” Whitehouse said as he crossed the street near the Supreme Court.
US President Joe Biden speaks at a press conference on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, DC, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Graham Sloane/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It’s just I He said political actions speak louder than words.
It’s notable that few Democrats made the 200-yard walk from the Capitol, across First Street, Nebraska, to the DSCC meeting room. That’s not to say that senators weren’t there (more on that later). It’s a 200-yard walk from the Senate Wing of the Capitol to the DSCC. You have to cross the Capitol lawn and then the street. The DSCC is in a nondescript building that looks like an old apartment building. Former Vice President Al Gore once lived in the building, as did former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and former Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). The building itself is wedged into a triangular block between the Dirksen Senator Office Building and the Supreme Court.
Some Democrats slipped out of a side entrance of the Dirksen Building, dodging traffic and dashing across the street to the DSCC. After all, the DSCC is just around the corner from the Dirksen for a reason. But many senators got chauffeured from the Capitol to the DSCC. Part of that was because of Washington’s blistering heat and relentless sun. But a lot of it was evasive. Democrats, like the White House, simply didn’t want to say anything, given the sensitivity of the issue. Or they didn’t want to express their true feelings in public, given the political weight it carried.
Democrats face tough reckoning on Biden campaign as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill
Besides Whitehouse, Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) were the only senators Fox saw or spoke to on her way to the meeting. But the two most vulnerable Democrats were not at the meeting. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) told Fox he would not be attending. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was also absent.
Senators Tester and Brown may have the most to lose this fall, and the same goes for Senators Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin).
So candidates in close races were not seen walking outdoors from the Capitol to the DSCC: They got in their cars or skipped across the street from the Dirksen Building.
Democratic senators stayed out of public view, much like Republicans hid from reporters when they knew tough questions about former President Trump were coming. This is nothing new, especially when addressing a sensitive issue like the president’s health. It’s even more so when the central issue is whether Democrats’ generally preferred president is the one they might want removed from office.
Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) spoke to Roll Call on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in his office in the Rep. Rayburn Office Building. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The House and Senate have been in recess for more than a week, allowing Republicans to meet in Milwaukee for their convention. This schedule favors Democrats, who would be better off making critical statements or calling on the president to step down when they return to their districts and hometowns to meet with their constituents. Issuing written statements or posting something on social media would create a firewall between them and pesky reporters.
Lawmakers are taking this issue very seriously and don’t want to air their frustrations with President Biden through the press. But at least one has taken a more direct approach. So Representative Mike Levin, D-Calif., told the president what he thinks he should do in a conference call with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus: Rep. Levin told President Biden to back off. Levin then issued a statement saying it was time to “pass the baton.”
It is unclear whether President Biden will take over.
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But with Congress out of session, lawmakers can certainly ignore the press on this thorny issue.
