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The President was running late. It was one of Joe Biden’s first chances since his enormous bipartisan infrastructure bill passed Congress to beam directly into living rooms in Kentucky and Ohio and describe how it will change daily commutes, water quality and Internet access for Americans at home.
After Biden came onto the television screen Monday evening, in the middle of stripping his mask off from a previous meeting, Kyle Inskeep of Local 12 WKRC-TV immediately asked what the bill will mean for improving the Brent Spence Bridge, a long-time chokepoint for traffic crossing the Ohio River between the two states.
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It was exactly the kind of question Biden’s advisors know Americans are wondering about. Biden pumped his fist. “We can get it done now,” he said. Biden listed off what billions of dollars in highway and bridge investment, new water pipes, broadband cable and electric school buses will mean for the Cincinnati area. After seven minutes, the interview was cut short. “I’m sorry to be late,” Biden said. “I hope I can see you again. I apologize for—little foreign policy issues—I apologize.”
White House aides like to say that President Biden can tackle more than one problem at once. But it’s proved challenging. When asked by TIME, White House officials wouldn’t explain what “little” foreign policy problems Biden was facing Monday night that caused him to compress his television sales pitch on one of his biggest legislative wins to date. For months, Biden’s struggled to find the time to explain clearly what he’s accomplished, and get credit for it with those who elected him.
He has a case to make. His Administration has presided over a large increase in vaccinations and a decline in COVID-19 cases, as well as historic job growth, the passage of $1.9 trillion in pandemic relief measures and the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. But those successes have been drowned out by internal squabbling among Democrats over…
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Source : time
