House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he wants President Joe Biden to campaign in the upcoming midterm elections, citing the president's low approval rating.
McCarthy told Fox News' America's Newsroom on Friday that he would "welcome" Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) coming out on the 2022 campaign trail.
The president's approval rating has been in negative territory since August 30—the day before the final withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan—and recent polling suggests his numbers are not headed for an upswing.
Fox News host Sandra Smith asked McCarthy if he's concerned about the possibility of Biden campaigning in midterm races.
"I want him in those races," McCarthy said.
"You look at his approval rating, I bet he doesn't have one member of Congress in the Democratic Party asking him to come. Are they gonna ask the president, the vice president or Nancy Pelosi?" he asked.
"I would welcome them coming out. Let's explain why inflation and the prices are so high. Let's explain why there's crime in the streets day in and day out. Let's explain why the borders are open and they won't go visit it or do anything to deter it.
"Let's explain why the world is not safe anymore based upon his handling of Afghanistan with 13 new Gold Star families, and now he could have more blood on his hands based upon how he welcomed Putin to invade and an incursion into Ukraine."
McCarthy was referring to the 13 U.S. service members who were killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021 in the closing stages of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Biden has also been criticized for recent comments suggesting that a "minor incursion" by Russian forces into Ukraine would lead to a softer response from Washington. Administration officials later attempted to clarify the president's remarks.
McCarthy said on Friday: "I mean, there's issue after issue the American public cares about. His biggest problem is that he's not out there listening."
Republicans believe they have a good chance at taking back control of the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate too, in the November midterm elections.
The president's party generally does poorly in midterms and Biden's approval rating does not bode well for Democrats.
Poll tracker FiveThirtyEight, which tracks Biden's approval by analyzing polls and through its own system of pollster ratings, gave the president an average approval rating of 41.9 percent as of January 21, while his disapproval stood at 53.5 percent.
Approval of the president rose slightly in December but has since fallen back.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
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