Rittenhouse verdict puts Biden in difficult political spot

The Associated Press ^ | November 20, 2021 | By AAMER MADHANI (D-AP)

[Oldeconomybuyer]

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A difficult political atmosphere for President Joe Biden may have become even more treacherous with the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Biden was already facing sliding poll numbers with an electorate worn down by the coronavirus pandemic and increasing inflation. Now, the president finds himself caught between outraged Democrats — some of whom were already stewing over Biden’s inability to land police reform and voting rights legislation — and Republicans looking to use the Rittenhouse case to exploit the national divide over matters of grievance and race.

“This is one of the last things Biden wants to be engaging in at this moment as he tries to finish up the big Build Back Better bill and get that across the finish line through the Senate,” said Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. “Race and Kyle Rittenhouse is not the space where he wants or needs to be going deep right now.”

The acquittal of Rittenhouse has touched off new conversations about racial justice, vigilantism and policing in America.

Even before the verdict, Biden had been facing increased pressure from some Democrats over the lack of progress on passing voting rights and police reform legislation.

At the same, civil rights leaders have expressed frustration that Biden has not used the power of the bully pulpit more to push for a broad police reform bill named after George Floyd, the Black Minneapolis man whose killing last year by police touched off protests around the U.S.

Speaking at an event earlier this week where he signed into law a trio of bills to increase aid to police, Biden only made passing mention of the George Floyd act, asking legislators from both parties to work together to make it law.

[windsorknot]

The AP is down with the Revolution. It fully supports the Biden Brownshirts.

[frank ballenger]

AP skeletons in closet....

Creepy.

[Liz]

Great deconstruction......deserves a repeat.

..... AP, WaPo, NYT, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN that has been using the Rittenhouse case to exploit the national divide. If the GOP “leadership” had its way no republican would have open his or her mouth about Rittenhouose much like the almost blanket wall of silence about the disgrace of what is going on with the January 6th political prisoners........