GOP argues Biden can’t call for unity and push policies they don’t like

• Bringing a sense of unity to American politics was a central theme of President Joe Biden’s inaugural address.
• Now that it is working to implement its campaign pledges, the GOP says Biden is undermining that call.
• Critics say the GOP misinterprets what Biden meant by “unity” and asks the president to drop his agenda.
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After four years of lining up behind one of the most controversial presidents in US history, Congressional Republicans and their allies accuse President Joe Biden of undermining his calls for unity by not lobbying for policies they deem acceptable.

“A radical left agenda in a divided country will not help unify our country, it will only confirm the greatest fears of 75 million Americans about the new administration,” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida tweeted Friday, incorrectly rounding off the number of votes Trump received in 2020.

“Biden had a good message of unity,” said Alyssa Farah, who was the Trump administration’s last communications director in the White House. a tweet Thursday. “But policies so far only target half the country, those who supported it, with no sign of sensitizing those who haven’t.”

Farah did not mention that Biden beat former President Donald Trump by more than seven million votes (roughly 81.2 million votes to 74.2 million) and won the support of a majority of American voters. (about 51%). Despite winning more votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history, Republicans have effectively called on Biden to back down on his election promises.

GOP Senator Tom Cotton in a tweet denounced Biden’s push for unity as “lie” because the president’s potential choice to lead Iranian politics is former Obama administration national security official Rob Malley, who isn’t hawkish enough for the likes of Republicans in Arkansas.

Indeed, just weeks after Trump instigated a violent insurgency on the United States Capitol, which was in many cases instigated by Republicans allowing the former president’s baseless allegations of mass electoral fraud, the GOP defines “unity” in the Biden era as the sole president. pursue a program that works for both parties.

‘No, that’s not how we do that’

After broadly endorsing Trump’s anti-democratic effort to overturn the election, Republicans generally put the burden of unifying the country entirely on Biden. Critics say the GOP is dishonest and will sidestep responsibility for the Capitol Riot earlier this month.

“If they work with him, he will work with them,” John D. Podesta, White House chief of staff under the Clinton administration and adviser to President Barack Obama, told The New York Times. “But that doesn’t mean abandoning your core program. What if he says, ‘I think you’ve gone too far in cutting taxes for the rich,’ and they say, ‘Well, that means you don’t. aren’t serious about unity, ‘it’s just a joke.’

“The Republicans ‘offense is to come out and say’ well, we’re going to do unity, but we’re going to do unity on our terms. And anything that isn’t, well, that’s not unity, “” former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Thursday on MSNBC. “What Joe Biden has to do now is say ‘no, that’s not how we do this'”

—Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) January 21, 2021

“There is a difference between Biden calling for unity as an opening theme and instantly conceding to Senate Republicans who have shown no evidence of their willingness to make a deal,” Julian Zelizer, University of Toronto historian. Princeton, tweeted Thursday.

“The burden is on [Sen. Mitch McConnell], especially after an insurgency instigated by the GOP, ”Zelizer added.

Biden: “ Disagreement must not lead to disunity ”

Unity was a central theme of Biden’s inaugural address, in which the president argued that political agreement was not a prerequisite for civility.

“We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the screaming and bring the temperature down,” Biden said.

“For without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fury, no progress, only exhausting outrage, no nation, only state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the way forward, “Biden said. “Listen to me clearly: disagreement must not lead to disunity.”

Based on Biden’s framing, unity doesn’t need to be on the same page on major issues at all times, but it does require a basic consensus to keep the peace even when people are not. Okay.

“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause of all-out war,” Biden said.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

A Morning Consult poll released Thursday found a strong majority of voters (74%) approved of Biden’s call in his inaugural address for an end to political division in the United States, including 51% of Republicans. The poll also found that a majority of voters (74%), including 61% Republicans, agreed that it was more important for the United States to have a leader who unites the country than one who represents their political positions and their preferred values.

But by pledging to bring a sense of unity back to the United States, the president was always going to have his work cut out for him – especially with millions of Americans doubting his tenure to lead. A recent poll suggested that most GOP voters don’t view Biden as the legitimate winner in the 2020 election. Biden also faces growing divisions within the Democratic Party, as progressives continue to clash with moderates. on a range of topics.

Biden’s ability to implement his initial agenda will depend on his ability to overcome the convoluted array of political forces competing to pull him in divergent directions.

That said, Biden is apparently aware that the road ahead will not be easy and that establishing a sense of oneness may prove elusive.

“I know that talking about unity can seem like a crazy fantasy to some. I know the forces that divide us are deep and real. But I also know that they are not new,” Biden said. “Victory is never assured.”