MADISON, Wis. — With a deal on the debt ceiling in the rearview mirror, President Joe Biden’s campaign is touting the bipartisan accomplishment.
Spectrum News 1 Political Reporter Anthony DaBruzzi caught up with Elizabeth Alexander, who serves as the campaign’s senior advisor for communication, to find out how the bipartisan negotiations will factor into the president’s reelection bid.
Watch their full conversation above.
“I think what you saw this week, in the last couple of weeks, is, you know, President Biden's strong, steady leadership on full display,” Alexander explained. “You're right, he did run on that slogan or that he was a big believer in compromise. When we have three equal branches of government, governing requires compromise, and you know, he has said you don't get everything that you always want. But he was the one that was strong and steady and stayed the course and was able to bring, you know, a historic bipartisan agreement for the American people and deliver results just like he has time and time again.”
The compromise included two years of spending caps and sending back roughly $30 billion of COVID-19 funds. For Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers has said that could amount to losing roughly $447 million in unspent dollars.
Alexander said that is a part of the give-and-take with Republicans.
“[Biden] was able to protect, you know, two years of progress,” Alexander said. “He was able to protect social security and Medicare. He was able to protect veterans. He was able to protect, you know, cuts to key important programs that working families really rely on, and he was able to protect the agenda that he's worked so much for, for these last two years. And so, he's proud of this agreement. The American people should be proud of this agreement because he and his leadership prevented a catastrophic default [that] would have been the first ever default. It would have cost this country millions and millions of jobs and set our economy into a tailspin.”
“I think what you saw over the last couple of weeks, you know, with him at the G7 [Summit] and him having to, you know, negotiate with the Hill on a budget, is that the reality of a reelection is that you know, the president has a very intense day job,” Alexander explained. “Governing is hard, and it takes a lot of hours, and so, you know, every reelection campaign factors that in. 2024 is obviously coming up. We have a big field of GOP candidates that, you know, all share many extreme positions. And so, you know, obviously the campaign is getting up and running, but as I said, the president has a serious day job every day, and that's very important that he continued delivering for the American people.”
“Look at President Biden’s record. Look at what he has delivered for Wisconsin families,” Alexander added. “He saved our economy and brought us back from the brink. He brought us out of COVID. He negotiated a historic bipartisan agreement to prevent catastrophic default. Look at his record. Look at his accomplishments, and he’s going to continue delivering for Wisconsin families. I would say there is a lot at stake in this election, you know, freedom and democracy are literally on the line in this election.”