Progressive Democrats are frustrated with how President Biden is handling his lame duck era, with President-elect Donald Trump dominating the news cycle with Cabinet nominations and meetings with world leaders.
Biden has remained relatively quiet in the weeks since Trump won re-election and has allowed Trump to steal the show at several notable events. Biden sent his wife, first lady Jill Biden, to attend the re-opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, giving Trump an opportunity to greet French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the cameras.
‘This is one of the lamest of lame ducks we’ve seen with a Democratic administration. A massive missed opportunity,’ Usamah Andrabi, spokesman for the progressive group Justice Democrats, told the Wall Street Journal.
Democrats also feel that Biden and the White House have not been critical enough of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Trump has already had one nominee withdraw, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary and a former Fox News host, has also drawn criticism.
‘We should be less hobbled and more spurred. We should be vocal, pushing back against these nominees who are nothing but a disaster in the making,’ Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee told the Journal.
‘Most voters don’t know Kash Patel or even who Matt Gaetz or Tulsi Gabbard are,’ Waleed Shahid, a progressive Democratic strategist, told the outlet. ‘But many more Americans would know if President Biden spoke about them… The only way to win the war of attention is by going to the voters and explaining things to them, which President Biden has consistently avoided doing.’
However, the White House pushed back on the criticism, arguing that Biden has been busy on foreign trips.
‘President Biden is making every day of this term count as he accelerates the implementation of an unprecedented agenda that will benefit hardworking Americans for generations,’ White House spokesman Andrew Bates told the Journal.
Top Democratic governors have been far more vocal in criticizing the incoming administration. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an effort to ‘Trump-proof’ California last month. Part of that plan includes spending $25 million on potential legal battles with the Trump administration.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also said he is prepared to ‘fight like hell’ against the Trump administration, but he acknowledged the need to have a working relationship with the White House.
‘If your values are being attacked, or you’ve got communities or people who are being attacked that don’t deserve it, you’ve got to fight like hell,’ said Murphy. ‘And then over here, you’ve got to have a relationship with the guy.’