Biden keeps his eyes on Bidenomics as Democrats urge him to focus on wars

President Joe Biden continues to focus his reelection pitch on the economy despite the wars being fought in Israel and Ukraine.

The president traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel, one week ago to show solidarity with the Israeli people and caution Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abide by the rules of war while pursuing Hamas terrorists in Gaza. However, that trip was bookended by large-scale economic announcements typical of the president’s last year in office.

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Before departing for Israel, Biden announced during a speech in Philadelphia that the administration was awarding $7 billion in grants to stand up seven regional hydrogen hubs, a clean energy initiative nested in Biden’s landmark bipartisan infrastructure law.

And on Monday, the president designated 31 communities nationwide as “Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs.” Funded through the CHIPS and Science Act, these regions will seek research and develop technologies spanning semiconductors, biomanufacturing, and clean energy, according to the White House.

“These hubs all around the country will bring together private industry, higher education, state and local governments, tribes, and organized labor,” Biden said at Monday’s announcement. “The work they’re doing is transformational.”

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

“We’re doing this from coast to coast and in the heartland and red states and blue states, small towns, cities of all sizes. All this is part of my strategy to invest in America and invest in Americans. It’s working,” the president continued. “We’re creating good jobs in communities all across the country, including places where, for decades, factories have been shut down and hollowed out when jobs moved overseas to find cheaper employment. Over the past few decades, these communities lost more than jobs. They lost their sense of dignity, of opportunity, and sense of pride. We’re going to change all that.”

Still, some question the wisdom of Biden’s adherence to this messaging campaign given his dismal economic polling and ongoing “stagflation.” Those critics even include former White House staff and sitting Democratic lawmakers.

Furthermore, some have suggested the president should be solely devoting his time to the wars in Israel and Ukraine, especially given the unknown number of American hostages in Hamas captivity and the billions in military and humanitarian support the United States is supplying to victims of both conflicts.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Monday if Biden has voiced any “frustration” over media coverage largely foregoing the president’s domestic agenda in favor of focusing on those dual wars.

She did not directly answer the question and instead suggested that the media coverage of the conflicts was responsible for driving the conversation at the White House.

“It is the reality of where we are and what’s being reported by all of you. It’s just the reality of where we are,” Jean-Pierre responded. “But it doesn’t stop the president, like you said for today, making an announcement that’s important to the American people.”

“The American people want us to see them delivering, whether it’s the economy, whether it’s healthcare, whatever issues that is important to them. The president’s going to make a big announcement in a couple of minutes that you all have reported actually has gotten great coverage on what he’s trying to do,” she continued. “It doesn’t stop the president from doing the job that he has to do every day, and you’ve seen him do that whether it’s foreign policy, whether it’s domestic issues. We try to hit that every day, and you hear the president talking about that every day.”

Perhaps contributing to the president’s focus on the economy is a widening rift in the Democratic Party about the war in Israel.

Several Democratic lawmakers, especially those in the progressive wing of the party, have voiced displeasure with Biden’s active support for the Israeli government’s attacks on Gaza while pursuing Hamas.

Furthermore, demonstrations in support of Palestinians across the nation raise the question of whether Biden can hold on to the progressive base ahead of a likely general election rematch with former President Donald Trump.

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RealClearPolitics’s polling aggregate shows Biden and Trump tied heading into 2024, and a recent poll from Morning Consult showed Trump leading Biden in five of six critical battleground states.

The president would likely need to hold on to his entire winning coalition from 2020 in order to secure a second term in the White House.