Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Biden does mocking impression of Republicans: ‘They ain’t got no shame’

The remarks come amid a string of recent legislative wins for Democrats.

Eric Garcia
Friday 09 September 2022 14:34 EDT
Comments
Biden mocks Republicans for taking credit for legislation they oppose

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

President Joe Biden mocked Republicans for taking credit for legislation they oppose while speaking at a Democratic National Committee summer meeting at National Harbor, Maryland, this week.

On Thursday, the president blasted Republicans for not voting for the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ recent bill meant to tackle climate change and reduce prescription drug prices.

Democrats passed the bill last month through a process called budget reconciliation, which allowed it to pass on a party-line vote since they only have 50 Senate seat, while Vice President Kamala Harris broke the tie.

“Not a single Republican, not a single one, House or Senate, voted for that legislation,” Mr Biden said, before adding that he signed legislation to improve the nation’s infrastructure that received bipartisan support.

“We got a little help from Republicans, not a lot but enough to get it passed,” he said. “But the truth is, there are a lot more Republicans taking credit for that bill than who actually voted for it.”

Mr Biden then proceeded to mock Republicans for touting the bill’s benefits.

“I see them out there, ‘and now we’re going to build this new bridge here, we’re all for it, and by the way this new road, and by the way we’re going to have this new internet,’” he said. ““I love ’em, man. They ain’t got no shame.”

Along with the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, Mr Biden has passed series of major pieces of legislation, including a bill to support the manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States, a bill to give veterans who suffered health problems from burn pits and the first piece of gun legislation in 28 years.

Mr Biden urged Democrats to turn out in the upcoming midterm election in November. when the president’s party typically loses control of one or both chambers of Congress.

“Imagine if we just elected two more Democrats in the Senate and keep the House of Representatives,” he said. “We’ll codify Roe v Wade, we’ll ban assault weapons. We’ll protect Social Security and Medicare. We’ll pass universal pre-k. We’ll restore the child care tax credit. We’ll protect voting rights. We’ll pass election reform. We’ll make sure no one tries to steal an election again in America.”

Democrats’ thin majority means that they have not been able to pass many pieces of legislation they want because of internal division within their party. Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have opposed changing the filibuster to pass voting rights while Mr Manchin chafed at extending an expanded Child Tax Credit last year.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in