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Biden ends the year with political victories after shielding equal marriage and the release of Griner

2022-12-09T14:17:45.761Z


The president faces the second part of his term after successfully passing the midterm elections and a series of unexpected successes.


By Peter Nicholas and Carol E. Lee -

NBC News

WASHINGTON — Call it December surprise: Joe Biden is on a roll.

Nearing the middle of his presidency, the president is racking up an unexpected string of victories at a time when most incumbents are long out of their honeymoon phase and are facing backlash from the voters.

Biden's poll numbers remain mediocre, hovering around 40 points.

But her political and diplomatic successes appear to have exceeded even her own personal expectations and have created a lasting foundation for a 2024 re-election bid, should she decide to run, according to some Democrats.

[Family of victims of the assault on the Capitol refuse to greet Republican politicians]

The latest came on Thursday morning, when Biden broke the shocking news that WNBA star Brittney Griner had been released from a Russian penal colony in a high-profile prisoner exchange.

Biden had hoped that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be more willing to release Griner after the US midterm elections were over, a calculation that turned out to be correct.

Just two days after the final race of the 2022 midterm campaign, a smiling Biden announced to reporters that Griner was out of prison and on his way home as part of a trade that included the release of the Russian arms dealer. Victor Bout.

“Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should have been there the whole time,” the president declared, standing next to Griner's wife, Cherelle.

“This is a day we have worked for a long time,” he said.

[Biden appeals to the judge the end of Title 42, opening the door for it not to end on December 21 as planned]

The announcement ended months of behind-the-scenes negotiations over Griner's fate after Russian authorities said they found cannabis-laced vape cartridges in his luggage in February.

The Olympic gold medalist was tried and convicted on drug charges and had been sentenced to nine years.

“I am terrified of staying here forever,” she wrote in a letter delivered to Biden in July.

The ad was not without criticism from Republicans, some of whom suggested Biden erred in swapping an arms dealer for a "basketball player."

Biden Says He Will Seek To Push For Assault Weapons Control Ahead Of New Divided Congress

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And Biden's diplomatic coup was not complete.

Paul Whelan remains in custody in Russia, a businessman whose release the White House has also been working unsuccessfully for.

In a statement released Thursday, Whelan's brother, David, said that while he was happy for Griner, "our family remains devastated."

“I can't even imagine how Paul will feel when he finds out,” David Whelan said of his brother, who is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges the US says are baseless.

A Biden administration official met personally with Whelan's sister Elizabeth to discuss Griner's release, and another official spoke directly to Whelan about it on Thursday.

[Biden turns 80 and could seek re-election.

Some question if his age will be an impediment]

The heartwarming images of the president embracing a grateful Cherelle Griner in the Oval Office mark one of the most productive periods of Biden's tenure. 

Most presidents who have reached this point in their term face the rubble of humiliating midterm elections.

Since Franklin Roosevelt first took office in 1933, presidents have lost an average of 28 seats in the House of Representatives and four in the Senate in midterm elections.

President Joe Biden announces the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner in a prisoner exchange with Russia, Thursday, December 8, 2022, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Patrick Semansky / AP

Biden's party secured a one-seat majority in the Senate thanks to Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock's runoff victory over his Republican rival Herschel Walker.

Although the Democrats lost the House of Representatives, they avoided the widespread defeats suffered by previous presidents.

(A “beating down” is how then-President Barack Obama described his party's loss of 63 seats in the House of Representatives in 2010.)

[Biden signs law passed by Congress to prevent a rail strike.

“We saved ourselves a Christmas catastrophe,” he said]

Just hours after Griner's post, the House of Representatives fulfilled a legislative goal of Biden's by passing a bill protecting marriage for same-sex couples.

In a 2012 interview with NBC 's

Meet the Press

when he was vice president, Biden came out in favor of same-sex marriage, and he is expected to sign the measure into law.

Meanwhile, the price of gasoline has fallen to its lowest level in a year, averaging $3.33 a gallon for regular gasoline.

A good employment report for November showed hiring trends continuing, while wages rose more than 5% from a year earlier.

Biden is not expected to announce his decision on his 2024 candidacy until early next year, although while his fortunes appear to be improving, his main rival has been mired in self-sabotage.

Former President Donald Trump drew the wrong attention when he met for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago beach club with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has made anti-Semitic remarks.

[US adds 263,000 jobs in November with wage increases]

“What a week for the Biden Administration!” Jim Messina, who was Obama's 2012 campaign manager, tweeted. “As of Tuesday: Warnock wins by almost 3 points;

Brittney Griner home for Christmas;

the marriage equality bill on its way to Biden's table."

A year ago, White House officials expected to find themselves in a much worse situation heading into the 2004 campaign. The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan was still fresh in American memories, and both inflation and the price of gasoline were going up.

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Furthermore, the Democrats were fighting each other and Biden's agenda had stalled.

The White House had lost patience with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia over his refusal to endorse an ambitious package last year aimed at expanding the social safety net.

White House officials acknowledged the headwinds and feared that the midterm elections would be a repudiation of Biden's record. 

[In photos: This was the wedding of Naomi Biden, the president's granddaughter, at the White House]

Now, they are buoyed by both the Democrats' midterm results and legislative victories, including passage of the Cut Inflation Act, which aims to curb climate change and lower prescription drug prices. . 

Biden is confident that there will be at least one new breakthrough during the session of Congress.

Lawmakers are considering an immigration reform measure that would provide a path to citizenship for some two million undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents.

Candy for Republicans would be the billions in new spending to improve border security.

“When I look at what the Biden White House has done, I think the experience and patience have paid off,” said Jennifer Palmieri, who was the White House communications director during the Obama Administration.

“They did everything they could to put the Democrats in the strongest possible position in the midterm elections.

And it broke in its own way,” she noted.

Massive in-laws are one way historians measure a presidency, but for voters, the human story of a 32-year-old woman returning home from a Russian penal colony may be more compelling evidence of the White House's work. .

[The White House offered a dinner to Emmanuel Macron, but Jill Biden did not wear a French model]

Griner was flown to Moscow about two days ago and from there departed for an airport in the United Arab Emirates.

She arrived on Thursday morning, Eastern time, and she had a special welcome.

Biden spoke to Griner from the Oval Office while she was on the runway, waiting to fly to San Antonio for a physical.

She was excited about her freedom, according to a senior Biden Administration official.

“I'm Joe Biden,” the president told him.

"Welcome home!"

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2022-12-09

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