Joe Biden is planning to focus on talking to Americans instead of passing laws in his second year in office in a desperate bid to reverse dwindling approval ratings.
The president told Democratic National Committee members during a virtual grassroots event Thursday he wants to offer a clearer contrast with Republicans going forward to avoid defeat at the midterm elections this year.
His administration's popularity has suffered as a result of the persistence of the Covid pandemic, rising inflation and legislative gridlock that saw his voting rights bill defeated this week.
Joe Biden is planning to focus on more public outreach and less time lawmaking in his second year in office in a bid to reverse dwindling approval ratings
Biden said he wants to contrast with the Republicans who are 'completely controlled by one man, that's focused on relitigating the past' - a veiled reference to former President Donald Trump and his continued false claims that he won the 2020 election.
'That's the choice we have to present before voters: Between the plans we have to improve the lives of the American people, and no plan, none at all,' Biden said.
White House aides have also previewed subtler changes to how Biden devotes his time, with a greater emphasis on speaking directly to Americans and less time in the weeds with lawmakers crafting legislation.
'He wants to spend more time out in the country and less time behind closed doors negotiating,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday.
She said Biden would rely on his aides more to engage in legislative negotiations, aiming to free up more of his own time to travel and sell his policies.
The understated White House response to a parade of bad headlines reflects the administration's internal confidence that its predicament will lessen in coming months as the omicron variant of COVID-19 recedes and his policies have time to take effect.
His administration's popularity has suffered as a result of the persistence of the Covid pandemic
Administration officials believe they have until the summer to prop up Biden's approval rating in order to help save as many Democratic congressional seats as possible.
'The public doesn't want me to be the `president senator,'' Biden said in a rare news conference Wednesday. 'They want me to be the president and let senators be senators.'
Biden acknowledged 'there's a lot of frustration and fatigue in this country' and placed responsibility for that squarely on the pandemic, 'the new enemy.'
A video released Thursday by Biden's inaugural committee to mark the end of his first year in office offered a preview of what's to come.
The ad highlights progress on the economy and against the virus, but acknowledges the work isn't done.
'It isn't all the way back, but it's getting stronger,' narrator Tom Hanks says of the economy. 'We may be entering year three of a pandemic none of us wanted or expected, but we're moving.'
'I can feel
