A path to citizenship would be essential for any immigration reform project.
They were the kind of promise that could come back to haunt a politician. But Biden is, if nothing else, an experienced politician. And often, during his prefecture on CNN, the promises came with warnings.
That July deadline? It was about the availability of the vaccine.
These school reopenings? Five days a week was an aspiration.
Immigration reform? Even a fragmented bill dealing with refugees would be an achievement.
The Biden city hall on Tuesday night was like this: a dash of news, a nuance to boot and a general attempt not to get too attached to anything, just to stick to it.
“I’m tired of talking about Donald Trump,” Biden said at one point, referring to his predecessor as “the ex-guy.”
“I don’t want to talk about him anymore,” he added. He then later spoke about Trump a little more, strongly suggesting that the 45th president had not called him since his election, blaming Trump for not doing more on vaccines and criticizing him for not condemning white nationalist groups.
The White House can be an island place – which is especially true during the pandemic, when even the brief amount of time a president can venture out of doors is even more limited and when the facilities themselves are less crowded for the purposes of public health. At times, Biden looked like someone who longed for basic interaction with humans other than family members and those who consider politics their calling.
He was long-winded, long-winded, self-referential and apologized for talking too much. He lingered on each question and questioner, pressing for personal details and trying to empathize about his concerns.
He asked a second grader who accompanied his mother to the city hall if she had studied, then said he realized that the Covid pandemic is probably scary for her.
“Don’t be afraid, you’ll be fine,” said Biden to the girl. “Let’s make sure that Mommy is fine too.”
When a public defender from Kenosha County asked about the repercussions for law enforcement after the shooting of Jacob Blake – a black man who was paralyzed after being shot in the back by a police officer – Biden noted that he was also a public defender and incidentally , they deserve to receive the same as the promoters.
He was careful to choose the points where he turned left. He advocated a $ 15 increase in the minimum wage, but not an executive action to eliminate $ 50,000 of student debt relief. He insisted that people should not be arrested for drug offenses, but made a point of emphasizing that he had no plans to strip the police.
The White House considers the format of the prefecture favorable to Biden, whose tactile style of retail politics was largely put aside for almost a year because of the pandemic. During the campaign, some of his most brilliant moments occurred in city halls, noted a Biden adviser, describing him as comfortable in the environments because of the comings and goings with “real people”.
In fact, he radiated heat, inviting a woman to stay so he could help his son with a chronic illness, and played with the audience. “President Hu,” he said of the former Chinese leader. “It’s not a joke”, although it could have been.
The fact that he chose Wisconsin was practical and political. The state represents a microcosm of the country. It is almost equally politically divided, where Trump-loving rural counties have resisted mask warrants while large urban centers like Milwaukee have overwhelmingly voted for Biden.
His presence in the state on Tuesday – along with a visit to Michigan later this week – is an acknowledgment that the 2020 map is not so different from 2022, during which Senator Ron Johnson’s seat and the government will be contested. .
“There is no denying that Wisconsin is the ultimate battle state. People often say that the road to the White House, the road to the Senate, the road to the House, passes through Wisconsin, ”said Melissa Baldauff, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Governor Tony Evers. “I think we have seen this happening over many electoral cycles.”
The choice of Wisconsin, and specifically Milwaukee, was also an unmistakable gesture to the central role that the decisive state will play in Biden’s political future. Biden was to make his speech at the Democratic National Convention in the city before moving him to his home in Wilmington, Del., Citing limitations due to the pandemic. The move was seen as depriving Milwaukee of what remained of an already stripped convention. The Biden campaign had privately promised to make up for the city, according to several Wisconsin Democrats.
Initially, however, there were local concerns that the event would be more of a problem than a favor. The town hall was scheduled for the same time that Evers would deliver his budget speech. The Biden event was later postponed an hour so that Evers could personally accompany him to the airport in Milwaukee.
Asked about the choice of state, John Anzalone, Biden’s adviser and campaign pollster, shared a screenshot of the numbers behind the president’s narrow victory.
“20,108 insights”, he joked – the exact margin by which Biden beat “the ex-guy”.