Republican House and Senate members eluded questions from the Congressional press corps for years when former President Trump said or did something outrageous – or at least just made news.
“I don’t read the tweets,” was a famous reply from former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., when a reporter posed a tough question about comments the former President posted to Twitter.
Others would provide boilerplate answers. Or some might just avoid answering altogether.
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“Call my office,” is a refrain you’ll hear from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., to this day.
Others made themselves scarce to reporters. But if you spoke frankly to those GOP members – circa 2016-2022, many would say they candidly they didn’t like former President Trump or didn’t support him. But they had to finesse the politics in public.
Suddenly congressional Democrats face a similar dilemma. Most Democrats LOVE President Biden. But privately, many just believe he’s no longer up to the task. It’s significant that two Democrats with major foreign policy portfolios – Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee – both called on Mr. Biden to hang it up. But many others are left in a state of political purgatory. Even if their own political future might depend on it.
So they give opaque statements about President Biden. Or, they don’t directly endorse Mr. Biden’s bid but declare “I’m with Joe.”
U.S. President Joe Biden pictured in front of the Capitol. (Getty Images)
Such was the case in recent days when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., deployed that phrase three times in less than a minute. Even when asked different questions which didn’t pertain to “who” Schumer may “be with.”
Art of the deflection is one tool.
Another option is to not respond to questions at all.
Such was the case when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., strolled from the Capitol to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Thursday. That’s where aides and officials close to President Biden huddled with panicked Democratic senators about the state of the race and the campaign.
I asked Whitehouse what he needed “to hear” in the session.
“I’m not going to discuss the meeting,” replied Whitehouse.
“Are you concerned about the president?” I followed up.
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“I’m not going to discuss the issue until I’ve had the meeting,” responded Whitehouse.
“What’s the level of tension you’re hearing from Democrats right now? I queried.
“I can’t respond to that either,” said Whitehouse.
I continued peppering Whitehouse with questions as we walked in the punishing, sun of a 95-degree day in Washington with nary a cloud.
“Why are members being so elusive on this? Are they worried? If they were foursquare behind him, would people be more willing to talk?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. That’s what you say,” said Whitehouse as he crossed the street near the Supreme Court.
U.S. President Joe Biden at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It wasn’t just what I said. Political actions speak louder than words.
What was noticeable is how few Democrats ambled the 200 yards or so from the Capitol, across First St., NE, and into the meeting at the DSCC. It wasn’t that senators didn’t attend (more on that in a moment). It’s about a 200 yard jaunt from the Senate wing of the Capitol to the DSCC. You must first cross the congressional lawn then the street. The DSCC is in a nondescript building which looks like an old apartment building. Former Vice President Al Gore once lived in the building. Same with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc. The building itself is wedged into a triangular block between the Dirksen Senate Office Building and the Supreme Court.
Some of the Democrats just slid out of a side entrance of the Dirksen Building, dodged traffic and popped into the DSCC across the street. After all, there’s a reason the DSCC is just steps from Dirksen. But many senators had drivers chauffeur them from the Capitol over to the DSCC. Some of that was the intense heat and unforgiving Washington sun. But much of that was evasion. Some Democrats, like Whitehouse, just didn’t want to say anything, considering the sensitivity of the matter. Or, they didn’t want express their true feelings in public – considering the political weight.
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Along with Whitehouse, Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Mark Warner, D-Va., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., were the only senators Fox saw or spoke with as they walked to the meeting. But the Democrats’ two most vulnerable members, weren’t at the huddle. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., told Fox he would not attend. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was also absent.
Tester and Brown potentially have the most to lose in their races this fall. The same with Sens. Bob Casey, D-Penn., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.
That’s why you didn’t see anyone with a close race making the outdoor trek from the Capitol to the DSCC. They either took a car or skipped across the street from the Dirksen Building.
The Democratic senators stayed out of public view – much the same as some GOP lawmakers hid from the press corps when they knew tough questions were coming regarding former President Trump. None of this is new. Especially when grappling with such a delicate subject as the health of a President. It’s augmented when the issue centers around whether a President that Democrats generally like is the one they may ask to go.
Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., speaks to Roll Call in his office in the Rayburn House Office Building on Thursday, December 7, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The House and Senate are now out of session for more than a week, so Republicans can attend their convention in Milwaukee. On this occasion, the schedule works in the favor of Democrats. It’s better for Democrats to make critical statements or call on the president to bow out when they are back in their districts or home states with constituents. Releasing a paper statement or posting something to social media builds a firewall between them and pesky scribes.
Lawmakers view this as so serious that they don’t want to air their grievances with President Biden via the press corps. But at least one took a more direct approach. That’s why Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., told the president what he believed he should do on a conference call with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Levin told President Biden to withdraw. Levin then published a statement saying it was time to “pass the torch.”
It’s unclear if President Biden will pass the torch.
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But lawmakers can certainly bypass the press corps on this nettlesome question now that Congress is out of session.
