Biden flirts with midterm election Irish goodbye as losses loom
Christian Datoc
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The White House has yet to schedule a post-midterm press conference prior to President Joe Biden‘s planned departure for a weeklong overseas trip, potentially breaking with a decadeslong tradition honored by Democratic and Republican administrations alike.
Democrats are expected to suffer heavy losses in the House once votes are counted on Tuesday, but the Senate remains a toss-up. One final election forecast viewed 49 races as firmly Republican and 47 as firmly Democratic, with four races too close to call.
BIDEN URGES DEMOCRATIC STAFFERS TO ‘PUT IT ALL OUT THERE’ AS MIDTERM LOSSES EXPECTED
Biden spent Election Day working the phones with top Democratic brass, holding calls with senior Democratic National Committee adviser and former White House aide Cedric Richmond, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison, Democratic Governors Association Chairman Roy Cooper, DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney, and DSCC Chairman Gary Peters, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). The White House called an official lid at 11:25 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
When asked by the Washington Examiner Tuesday about a potential press conference on Wednesday, White House officials reiterated past statements, promising that “you’ll hear from the president before departure overseas.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined during Monday’s press briefing to outline what the president’s Wednesday might look like.
“I have been very clear, you’re gonna hear from the president. He always enjoys taking your questions. So, you know, he will — I’m sure he’ll take your questions as well. I’m just not going to get ahead of it,” she said in one exchange. “I’m just not going to lay out what his day is going to specifically look like on Wednesday. But again, he’s going to address the American people, and I think that matters. He’s going to be clear about what’s on his mind, and I’m just not gonna get ahead of it from here.”
All but one of Biden’s six immediate White House predecessors held a press conference the day after the midterm elections during their first time in office. Former President George H.W. Bush chose to forgo fielding questions following the 1990 elections due to the recently launched first Gulf War.
Biden is slated to depart overnight Thursday for Egypt, where he will attend Cop 27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. From Egypt, he will travel to Cambodia, where he will attend the 2022 ASEAN and East Asia summits, then Indonesia for the G-20 Summit in Bali before returning to Washington on Nov.17.
The president spent Monday evening rallying DNC officials in two virtual receptions and campaigning in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a district he won with 89% of the vote in the 2020 election.
“You know, one more night, probably another 30 hours nationwide between now and where we are till the last vote is cast. One more night to do everything we can to win it and to keep it going. Look, if we’re able to hold on, we’re going to be in incredible shape. Imagine what we can do in a second term if we maintain control. I know that sounds like a very high expectation, but I think — anyway, I’m optimistic,” he said during one of the virtual DNC events. “I want to remind you to remind your teams, with so much at stake for our nation, don’t leave a thing — put it all out there. Go full bore till the last poll closes. Make that extra call — not a joke. Knock on that extra door. Most of all, keep the faith. Remind the folks that the power is in their hands.”
While Biden has traveled heavily in the final weeks and months of the campaign cautioning voters against the threats to democracy posed by “mega MAGA” Republicans, he avoided visiting more than half of all battleground states, including Arizona, Georgia, or Nevada.
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Biden has visited Pennsylvania five times since August to support Democratic senatorial nominee John Fetterman, who entered Election Day neck and neck with Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.