The Point: Joe Biden just kept his No. 1 campaign promise

Posted by :

June 24, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski

Joe Biden just kept his No. 1 campaign promise

When Joe Biden would talk on the 2020 campaign trail about the need to rekindle bipartisanship in Washington and his unique ability derived from decades in the Senate to make it happen, there were lots of eye rolls.

It felt to many (myself included) like a bit of nostalgia on Biden's part, nostalgia based on a fundamental misunderstanding of How Politics Works, or, more accurately, doesn't work. Maybe in the 1970s bipartisanship was possible, we all said. But that was 50 years ago.

Then Biden proved us wrong.

The announcement on Thursday that he and a group of senators -- five Democrats and five Republicans -- had agreed to the framework of an infrastructure package that totals more $1.2 trillion over eight years, with $559 billion in new spending, was the proof that Biden had long promised that bipartisanship is not, in fact, dead.

"Neither side got everything they wanted in this deal," Biden said in remarks delivered Thursday afternoon. "That's what it means to compromise."

Biden's stubbornness to just keep grinding away at a bipartisan deal in the face of that skepticism and criticism from some of the most prominent voices in his party is what ultimately led to the agreement announced Thursday.

Which is a clear victory for Biden -- and his first-term agenda. And there's no question that his political advisers are leaping for joy behind the scenes right now. He said he could make deals and he did! Promises made and promises kept! And all that.

This deal "signals to ourselves and to the world that American democracy can deliver," Biden said in his remarks. "Because of that, it represents an important step forward for our country."

Speaking in such sweeping terms makes clear just how critical Biden feels the infrastructure deal is. In Biden's imagining, it's about who we are as people -- and as a country. That we have more that unites us than divides us. That we are, at root, able to compromise on things that really matter to us. And that the compromise, once reached, makes all of us stronger.

The Point: The Biden pitch on the campaign trail against Donald Trump in 2020 was, put simply, that we are better than this guy thinks we are. That's why getting this deal means so much for Biden: It's a reaffirmation of his fundamentally optimistic view of human nature.

-- Chris

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It was not an accident that it turned violent; it was intended to halt the very functioning of our government."

-- Federal Judge Royce Lamberth, during the first sentencing hearing of a defendant charged in the attack on the Capitol, on efforts to downplay the attack.

THE BIG LIE, POLLED

Don't miss this new reporting on just how much Republicans were on board with then-President Trump's "Big Lie" about the 2020 election. CNN's Marshall Cohen dug into this research and polling from the Democracy Fund, a nonpartisan foundation that studies voter attitudes toward democratic institutions and works to strengthen democracy in the US:

Their polls found that after the election, a supermajority of Republicans backed Trump's efforts to overturn the results: 86% said his legal challenges were appropriate, 79% said they weren't confident in the national vote tally, and 68% said Trump really won. Another 54% said Trump should never concede, and a plurality said state legislatures should override the popular vote.

This set the stage for Trump, GOP lawmakers, and right-wing media outlets to continue pushing the lie that the election was "rigged," which Trump did yet again in a press release this week.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just announced a House select committee that will investigate the Capitol riot -- after Senate Republicans in May blocked an independent commission to investigate it.

THURSDAY'S MUST-SEE TWEETS

1. Giuliani, out.

2. Kristi Noem, eh?

3. Fox News being Fox News

4. What seahorses know about love

5. I thought Bitcoin was in bad shape?

CHRIS' GOOD READS

This Washington Post piece -- an excerpt from a forthcoming book -- about just how sick Trump really was from Covid-19 is both eye-opening and sadly unsurprising. And this Post article, which dives headfirst into the make-believe world that the 2020 election was stolen, is scary.

A revealing look at cops leaving their jobs in droves from The New York Times suggests that the policing problem is bigger and more complex than people want to admit.

Make time to read CNN's Andrew Kaczynski writing about the six-month anniversary of his infant daughter's death.

I've long been a fan of Chris Ingraham's journalism. We were colleagues at the Post once upon a time -- and he's now headed out for his next journalistic adventure. Read his explanation on "Why I left the Washington Post."

Take a minute or two to read Britney Spears' full statement to a judge as she tries to get out from under her long-standing conservatorship. It's a brutal -- and necessary -- read.

"How to Survive the Worst Tornado in American History." You had me at "worst tornado in American history," Wired.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Dylan LeBlanc -- if you don't know him you should -- has released an album called "Pastimes" that has him covering songs from Glen Campbell to the Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin. My personal favorite? His cover of Bob Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell."

ALL EYES ON IOWA

Chuck Grassley has represented Iowa in the Senate since 1981(!) but new polling suggests Hawkeye State voters are open to electing someone new.

Chris digs into whether Iowa's electorate will actually part ways with its long-standing senator.

Stay in the loop with The Point on YouTube and subscribe!

ONE LI'L CHEAT SHEET

President Biden held a notecard with prepared remarks, including "Welcome to infrastructure week!" as he spoke to the media after meeting with the group of senators that reached a bipartisan deal on an infrastructure plan.

You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter.

Unsubscribe from this list

Check out other CNN Newsletters

Create your CNN Account

Share the Point Newsletter

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get The Point in your inbox.

Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. You can follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter and connect with The Point on: