Several Democratic strategists have praised the speech US President Joe Biden delivered on the first anniversary of 6 January 2021, when pro-Trump protesters rushed into the Capitol demanding to prevent the 2020 election results' certification. The strategists told The Hill that it was high time Biden openly accused Trump of playing a role in the events, which Democrats see as an "insurrection", and called out the latter's claims of election fraud.
Some Democrat strategists said they had long been waiting for POTUS to respond to Trump's efforts to question the results of the last presidential election. The speech that Biden delivered was thus reportedly important in terms of 2022 being a midterm election year. Many Democrats are afraid that the president's disapproval ratings, which had hit 56% due to surging inflation, spiking COVID cases, and the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco last year, might lead to the party losing control over Congress.
"Hey, White House, more of that please. Way f**king more of that", one Democratic strategist told The Hill.
Eddie Vale, a Dem strategist, praised Biden's 6 January speech as one of the strongest that POTUS has given so far. Vale noted the "perfect balance" that the president kept between attacking Trump and paying tribute to the "tragedies of the day".
Another strategist for the party, Adrienne Elrod, went as far as to call the president's speech one for the history books.
"He rose to the occasion and delivered the passionate and substantive speech our country needed to hear on this day, while forcefully calling out President Trump", Elrod said.
'Political Speech' That Doesn't Solve Any Pressing Issues
Naturally, his speech was criticised by the person he targeted the most in it – former President Donald Trump. The ex-POTUS slammed the Democrat for referring to him "to try to further divide America" instead of working on numerous issues plaguing his administration, such as inflation, open borders, energy policies, and "corrupt elections".
Republican strategist Doug Heye, in turn, pointed out that Biden's message will resonate with supporters of his party. However, it will hardly win the president, who has been suffering from low ratings for over half a year, new fans among Republicans and independents – even if they recognise the 2020 election results, Heye said. The strategist lamented that Biden's 6 January speech ended up being divisive for the US, while POTUS vowed to "heal" during his election campaign.
"The less political it is, the better it is for Biden, and this was political. By going after Trump today and doing so as forcefully as he did, it is not clear what Biden was hoping to accomplish or what the strategy was. It certainly doesn’t take down the temperature", Heye said.
One Democrat strategist, Christy Setzer, also took issue with Biden's address at the Capitol. She noted that Biden's speech looked "strong-on-rhetoric, light-on-action". Setzer pointed out that even though the attack on Trump was "clear and effective", questions remain as to why the speech was delivered a year late and included no signs that those responsible would be held accountable. The strategist suggested that POTUS won't be able to stick to this anti-Trump rhetoric for long in the absence of actions to back it up.