Joe Biden, from the start of his 2020 run for the Democratic nomination right through to now as president-elect, has been insistent about one thing: He believes he will be able to get Republicans to work with him to solve America’s myriad problems after four years of incompetence from President Trump.
“We’ll be in dire trouble if we don’t get cooperation, and I believe we will,” Biden said earlier this month about the need for a bigger covid relief package once he assumes office next month. In a call with columnists on Wednesday, the former vice president (who previously had served 36 years in the Senate) talked about the encouraging calls he has had with Republicans who want to get things done. “Reality has a way of intruding” on the plans of political opponents, he said. “I think we’re going to get a lot more cooperation” than folks expect.
Look, I have faith in Biden’s abilities. But every time I hear the president-elect wax kumbaya about the Washington he’s about to inherit, which has only gotten worse since the eight years of obstruction that he witnessed as vice president to President Barack Obama, I think about the wisdom of Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
So, I asked Biden on that call what he would say to Democrats and others who are afraid he doesn’t see the punch in the mouth coming or that he won’t have the will to use all the power available to him to get his agenda through Congress. Biden pushed back — forcefully, as if I was the one who punched him in the mouth.
"Well, let me tell you something. You guys have been saying that about me since the day I ever got into office. You said that when I announced, that I was a nice enough guy but didn’t get it, didn’t know what was going on,” Biden said. “I respectfully suggest that I beat the hell out of everybody else. I won the nomination, got everybody to come around and won by over seven million votes. So I think I know what I’m doing and I’ve been pretty damn good at being able to deal with the punchers. I know how to block a straight left and do a right hook. I understand it.”
“I haven’t changed how I approach politics since I got involved. And part of it is just establishing with your opponents that if they want to play, I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to fight,” Biden noted. “But one of the things that happens is when you get into one of those kind of blood matches … nothing gets done, nothing gets done.”
Still, Biden argued that knowing what to do in lieu of fighting is what matters and is what’s necessary now. “What is your vision? What do you see down the road? What do you think brings people together?” he said. “Part of it is sort of not seeing around the corner, but understanding where the American public is going.” His prime example was where the American people are on environmental issues today compared with when he was vice president.
“I’m going to be able to get stuff done on the environment that none of you are going to believe,” Biden pledged. “I could not have gotten it done six years ago, but all of a sudden, they now realize, ‘Holy, God!’ … ’Holy mackerel, I didn’t realize. When you have a part of the West Coast burn as big as the state of New Jersey to the ground, something’s up. Something’s wrong.’ ”
Recounting his successful efforts to help get the Recovery Act passed in 2009, Biden pointedly said, “I’m going to say something outrageous. I’m not bad at this because people know whatever I tell them, I will do. I’ll keep my word.” But Biden knows his policy agenda won’t be to everyone’s liking. Some of those folks are unreachable.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to get, you know, anyone, from the Proud Boys to some of our really, really strident Republicans, 20 of whom I’m told in the Senate don’t want to vote for anything. … I’m not going to get those folks,” Biden admitted before adding, “I don’t have to get those folks, I don’t think.” For the president-elect, it’s all about making the case.
“I think there’s a case that can be made that demonstrates that everything from racial equity to environmental progress to plain old jobs can be had in a way that everybody can sign on to,” said Biden, who knows that all of his goals won’t be easy to attain. The difficulty doesn’t bother him in the least. “It’s the only reason I ran,” Biden said.
In a 2012 interview with Sun Sentinel sports reporter Mike Berardino, Tyson explained what he meant by his punch-in-the-mouth wisdom. “It’s all about endurance. You might be one of those guys that starts real fast, but at the end of the game you’re not looking so good,” Tyson said. “Or you might start a little slow, have some adversity in your past, but you stuck it out and now you’re on top of the mountain for a long time.” Sounds just like Biden.
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