Several major mainstream news outlets have been claiming that President Joe Biden’s recent legislative successes represent a "hot streak" that could pivot his presidency into one perceived as successful rather than "difficult."
In the last couple of weeks, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and Politico all published pieces claiming that Biden’s recent successes show that he’s on "a roll" and counter the claims that he’s been a poor president.
This novel media trend seemed to kick off in late July with a Politico report insisting that "Joe Biden is back in the game." The piece provided a glowing response to headway made on Biden's economic and environmental agenda by way of a deal struck between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on the Inflation Reduction Act.
At the time, Politico wrote, "After enduring a brutal year dominated by economic angst, legislative setbacks and sinking approval ratings, the president is suddenly on the verge of a turnaround that, the White House believes, could salvage his summer — and alter the trajectory of his presidency."
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In an opinion column from Politico Magazine published that same week, the outlet’s founding editor John Harris claimed that Manchin’s newfound support for the Biden economic agenda indicated that "Suddenly, the mood is looking up," and the president’s leadership needs a "reappraisal."
Harris provided his own reappraisal, which was that Biden might be a "better president than people thought." As opposed to polls indicating that even most Democrats do not want Biden around any longer than he has to be, Harris insisted that Biden deserved a "solid B" grade for his presidency so far.
Despite the president’s low approval rating, rampant inflation, and the fact that the U.S. economy has met the threshold for being in what was traditionally considered a recession, the idea that Biden is successful has continued.
This past Sunday, Politico’s "Playbook" praised Biden as one of the most "legislatively successful presidents of the modern era" due to the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Calling Biden’s success on his economic agenda "pretty impressive," authors Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels added that there is "not much debate anymore" if Biden is a consequential president or not.
The Washington Post praised Biden’s recent "hot streak" in a report on Monday, claiming that the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act "capped off a remarkable three-week stretch for Biden, much of which coincided with his covid isolation, including the passage of major bills to help sick veterans and boost computer chip makers; historic job growth numbers; steadily falling gas prices; a once-in-a-generation expansion of NATO; and the long-sought killing of al-Qaeda’s leader."
The report added, "His challenge now, supporters say, is to turn this hot streak into a pivot point that reorients his presidency and energizes Democrats."
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On Wednesday, a CNN Politics report claimed that though Biden’s "political standing among the public has declined," his recent success may give him and the Democratic Party the turnaround they’ve been needing.
The piece stated, "The upcoming bill signings – along with other related accomplishments like the recent targeted killing of Osama bin Laden's successor and continued declining gas prices – amount to the possibility that Biden may get the pre-midterms boost Democrats have been hoping for."
And a Tuesday New York Times piece from the outlet’s chief White House correspondent Peter Baker, claimed that Biden’s recent success shows that he’s on "a roll." "Suddenly, the administration that could not get anything right, that could not catch a break, was on a roll that any president would relish," he wrote.
Baker even went so far as to claim that Biden’s successes – which he enumerated as "Major legislation cruising to passage, at least some economic indicators heading in the right direction, and the world’s most wanted terrorist killed after a two-decade manhunt" – put the president among the ranks of "even perhaps F.D.R. and L.B.J" in terms of each former president’s "two-year legislative record."
