A Fox News panel labeled President Joe Biden “the most toxic man in politics” after news broke that several prominent Democrats had “scheduling conflicts” ahead of his visit to their home state of Pennsylvania.
“Democrats want nothing to do with the most toxic man and politics right now, Joe Biden,” Judge Jeanine Pirro began on Friday’s broadcast of “The Five,” noting that top Democrats in Pennsylvania had opted not to stand alongside Biden as he spoke in that state Friday. “Candidates are making sure their calendars fill up quickly and are avoiding even mentioning Joe Biden’s name. We are sure it has nothing to do with a string of bad polls including this one. According to Gallup, Biden polled significantly lower in six key character traits than he did before taking office.”
Fox News correspondent Gillian Turner argued that if Biden had a 60% approval rating rather than being underwater with numerous demographics, candidates would be flocking to his events “with bells on.”
“A lot of news outlets are reporting what’s going on here, as you know, these down-ballot Democrats are trying to create their own brand and separate themselves from the president on the issues,” Turner continued. “But that’s not really what’s happening. The down-ballot candidates here are entirely ghosting the president. This is happening at fundraisers, this is happening at his big signature events, it’s happening on social media. It’s a real nationwide trend now. Something the Biden Administration is going to have to address”
Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN) said that he would still appear at events with Biden, adding, “Politicians don’t always flock to the vulnerable, they flock to the popular. All you’ve gotta do is get popular again and they’ll come right back to him. The way you get popular as a politician is you meet people where they are and try to answer their questions and concerns.”
He noted that Biden could certainly tighten up his speeches and address issues that impact the American people like the supply chain and inflation, or really reach across the aisle to see if he could work with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) rather than simply attempting to bully him into submission.
Cohost Jesse Watters pointed to reports that the White House had been trying to “reset” Biden’s public image, having him speak directly to the people more often and spend less time in closed-door negotiations with Democratic leadership in Congress — and he said that it wouldn’t work.
“You can’t reset a guy. It’s a human, it’s not a machine,” he pointed out, noting that the states where politicians were avoiding him — thus far Georgia and Pennsylvania – were states that he had carried in the 2020 presidential election. “This isn’t Texas. They’re not ghosting him in Texas. This is Pennsylvania. This is a blue state that he won.”
Turner said that Democratic attempts to put distance on the White House probably would not work either, adding, “Midterms are always a referendum on the president. They can distance themselves all they want. It doesn’t matter.”