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MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch has gone from ranting furiously about then-President Donald Trump to subtly praising the now-former president for having the spunk and bravado that the current president lacks in droves.
He offered the very subtle praise during a discussion with MSNBC host Nicole Wallace about the upcoming 2022 midterm elections.
A frustrated Wallace asked why Democrats were focused on litigating substantive issues like inflation instead of touting current President Joe Biden’s alleged successes.
Deutsch responded by essentially blaming Biden.
“Part of it is the messenger. And I say this begrudgingly. Biden does not come across particularly with mojo. He doesn’t seem to have that mojo. He doesn’t seem to be delivering the message in a strong way,” he said.
“I think it’s a visceral thing, because the message is there. Yes, we have inflation, but you’ve got the best jobs numbers you’ve ever had in our lifetime, you’ve got what he’s done in Ukraine. He can’t do a better job,” he said.
Most Republican critics would disagree with these claims.
“You look at the alternative in Trump. but [Biden] still doesn’t deliver it with authority. There’s something … even that clip that you played that’s a month old. He’s up there, and he doesn’t seem to be in charge. I don’t know if that’s his age. I don’t know if it’s his delivery. Something is not translating with the messenger,” he continued.
“And I say that begrudgingly because I’m a Biden guy. But it’s just [that] the more people I talk to — even Democrats — seem to feel that way: Why is he not punching harder, coming across with more strength and bravado? He could use a little of what Trump had, frankly. I think that’s what’s missing.”
Regarding Deutsch’s claims about the Biden economy, current job numbers are a result of America reacquiring all the jobs that were lost during the early days of the COVID pandemic. If anything, they’re lower than they should have been by now.
A good reminder that Biden has not actually CREATED a single new job – he’s just taking credit for people returning to jobs after COVID.
One of the many reasons his approval ratings don’t show him getting any credit the economy. https://t.co/hD1gur3SFd
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 1, 2022
As for Ukraine, many critics have alleged that had the president been tougher from the get-go, Russian President Vladimir Putin would have never invaded in the first place.
Most Republicans would likely agree with everything else Deutsch had said, namely that the current president is lacking the spark of life.
There’s a reason why conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has had a habit of referring to Biden as “President Houseplant.”
Case in point:
President Houseplant is not fully there. We all know this. But Democrats desperately need him in order to put a non-threatening face on some of the most radical policy we have ever seen. So he will be shielded from media questions.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 11, 2021
Notice what he wrote about the president being shielded from questions. Deutsch’s remarks came on the same day that CNN’s Chris Wallace grilled White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the president’s lack of press conferences.
“Why has President Biden been so sheltered from the press?” he bluntly asked.
Psaki responded with confusion and denial, but Wallace, to his credit, refused to buy what she was trying to sell him.
“Joe Biden held two solo news conferences in the White House, and he held five on foreign trips. And take a look at this: In his first year, Mr. Biden sat down for 28 interviews with reporters. That compares to 95 in the same period of time for Donald Trump and 162 for Barack Obama. By comparison, Jen, that’s sheltered,” he pointed out.
Psaki responded by trying to change the goalposts.
“Nearly every day at the White House, he takes questions from the White House press corps. Two questions, three questions, eight questions. So why is that different?” she said.
But Wallace, again to his credit, wasn’t impressed.
“Yeah, but Jen … I’ll tell you exactly why that’s different. Because when you’re standing there, you can take a question, you can answer it, you can slough it off and you move on,” he said.
“It in no way compares to sitting down with a reporter for 20 minutes, 30 minutes and having — you can’t move away. You can’t duck it. You gotta sit there and answer the question and the follow up. It’s not the same thing.”
Starry-eyed Chris Wallace praises Psaki for her ‘civility.’ She didn’t call anyone a ‘stupid son of a bitch’ this week. via @americanwire_ – https://t.co/hYVH38IuW2
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) April 21, 2022
The fact that both Deutsch and Wallace, two fairly left-wing figures, recognize that there’s a problem is probably not a good sign …
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