Everything that Biden said about “MAGA Republicans” being a threat to American liberal democracy was true. But was it wise to say so? And was now the time to do it?
I don’t think so. Talking about Trump and January 6 is one thing, but casting your net to include a large portion of the GOP is something else, particularly when your brand is to be a healing, relatively bipartisan figure. Combining the attacks on the MAGA crowd with a victory lap on clearly partisan issues such as climate change only made things worse.
The bottom line here is that the best way to discredit the reactionaries is to let their words and actions speak for themselves. Biden is at his most effective when he is a counterpuncher. By going on the offensive shortly before the midterms, I’m afraid he brought the GOP together rather than wedging the McConnell crowd away from the insurrectionists, which is the best way for the Democrats to win elections.