Was that critic H.L. Mencken? BTW, Harding sort of helped make Miami Beach down here by being "kidnapped." What happened is that after his election in 1920, Harding wintered down here in the Miami area for a vacation. He was staying on a yacht in the middle of Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach. He was scheduled to meet with Miami officials but just as those officials arrived so too did Carl Fisher, the developer of Miami Beach. The Miami officials read their official proclamations and with that done, Fisher informed Harding of great poker, golf, and liquor on Miami Beach. He then proceeded to whisk Harding away to Miami Beach on his boat, much to the outrage of the city of Miami officials. Harding's stay on Miami Beach gave great publicity to that locale which was mostly unknown to the general public until then.
No, that putdown of Harding was certainly witty enough to be Mencken, and you've got the right era, but actually it was a Democrat leader by the name of William Gibbs McAdoo.