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Drag queens are an easy target for the growing reactionary backlash taking place in America. Theyre loud; theyre irreverent; they clearly dont ascribe to conventional gender norms. They provide a simple shorthand about decadence and perversion for anyone with the all-encompassing need to punch down against anyone who isnt a straight white man.

For all those reasons, there has been a disturbing uptick in recent weeks of targeted harassment and threats of violence toward queens and the people who support them. There is no denying that the sirens are sounding not just for the most flamboyant members of the LGBTQ community, but for queer Americans as a whole, no matter how much bigots might argue otherwise.

As with most of the slippery-slope homophobia that were seeing these days, the mainstream opposition from the right hides behind children to launch their attacks. Since 2015, libraries and other public spaces around the country have held Drag Queen Story Hours, where performers come and read to small children while in full drag.

It is worth noting that there is nothing inherently sexual about these events. The queens arent reading selections from the Marquis de Sade to fidgeting kindergartners. Theyre reading childrens books like Families, Families, Families. They just happen to be doing so with their face beat and (potentially, depending on how comfortably they can sit) their waist snatched.

The outrage really makes you wonder what happened to the parental choice mantra that Republicans have been pushing lately.

These story hours have been the subject of protests and threats for as long as theyve been in the national news. What makes today different, though, is the vitriol we are seeing both from public officials and from hateful individuals. And their opposition, while framed around protecting children, makes no distinction between story time for children and drag shows for adults.

Particularly drawing their ire is a family-friendly Drag the Kids to Pride event that took place this month at a gay bar in Texas. Clips that have gone viral show performers showing the same amount of skin and suggestive dancing that the audience might see at a pop concert. Theres no evidence that any of the minors were there unattended nor has there been any similar videos of kids being snuck into late-night performances. The outrage that the show has spawned really makes you wonder what happened to the parental choice mantra that Republicans have been pushing lately.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been leading the charge in advocating parents rights as a reason to bar kids from learning about LGBTQ issues in schools, apparently thinks that they should also be banned from learning about LGBTQ tolerance outside of schools. Last week, he suggested that he might back a GOP state lawmakers proposal to punish parents that take their kids to drag shows. Texas lawmakers are also promising to file legislation protecting kids from drag shows.

The obsession on the right is really questionable when you hold up drag to other performance art forms. Ive yet to see a lawmaker or activist up in arms claiming that the garish make-up of a circus clown as being confusing to young minds. Theres no outcry against children being taken to see even the most ribald of Shakespeares plays, even those that feature gender-bending as a core plot element.

Instead, the fierce denunciation toward drag queens is most similar to conservative campaigns against ciswomen dancers and singers throughout the years. Ironically, while patriarchal norms encourage the latter to earn a living off of their sexuality, both are accused of leaning too far into the feminine and are demonized for it. Its truly a lose-lose out here at times for the non-masculines of the world.

And it has to be said that the current campaign goes beyond political posturing. Members of the white nationalist Proud Boys interrupted a drag story hour last week at a library in Alameda County, California. The sheriffs office has opened a hate crime investigation after the crowd shouted "homophobic and transphobic slurs at the event organizer.

Kyle Chu, whose drag name is Panda Dulce, told Teen Vogue that they were sitting with librarians singing a song to welcome the kids when eight to ten Proud Boys marched in with their cameras outstretched. Chu said that one of them had an AK-47 shirt that said kill your local pedophile on it. After the police were called, and the Proud Boys escorted out, the event was allowed to finish but Chu said it was a traumatizing event that theyre still processing.

There are still men and women who want so badly to see gender norms rigidly enforced that they will harm others to do so.

Proud Boys and the group Protect Texas Kids also rallied last weekend outside of a Disney-themed drag brunch in Arlington, Texas. The event was clearly for people aged 21 and up and the group even acknowledged on Twitter that no children were actually present. That didnt seem to diminish their harassment of attendees and counterprotesters.

We know the kind of violence the Proud Boys and their ilk relish, as the recent Jan. 6 hearings have shown to brutal effect. Police in Idaho last weekend arrested members of the white nationalist Patriot Front militia before an attempted assault on a Pride parade. Its not a stretch to see how one of these confrontations could escalate further.

That all this is taking place during Pride Month is a stark reminder that no matter how many Emmys RuPauls Drag Race wins, no matter how ingrained drag culture has become in America writ large, the struggle is not over. There are still men and women who want so badly to see gender norms rigidly enforced that they will harm others to do so.

I somehow doubt that they will like what will happen if push comes to shove, though. Before Pride went corporate, Stonewall was a riot led in part by drag queens and trans women, as my activist friends like to remind people. History shows us that in the face of oppression and violence, the LGBTQ community will not go quietly. But its also worth noting that for all the emphasis on protecting children, it is more likely going to be a Proud Boys actions that hurt a child at story time than a drag queens.

Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MSNBC Daily, where he helps frame the news of the day for readers. He was previously at BuzzFeed News and holds a degree in international relations from Michigan State University.

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Why Republicans can't win their war on drag queens - MSNBC

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The Texas State Board of Education Friday again rejected an application of a Houston charter school whose founder gave money to a political action committee that backed anti-critical race theory candidates for the board and whose board member accused organizers of the Womens March of trying to impose Sharia in America.

The Heritage Classical Academy, which had plans to open in 2023 using a curriculum developed by the conservative Christian Hillsdale College, was one of four applicants for charters that were rejected by the board this week. The elected body made up of nine Republicans and six Democrats did move forward with a new charter school in Fort Worth, the Academy of Visual Performing Arts for sixth to twelfth grade students.

The Heritage charters application has been vetoed multiple times, most recently in June 2021. Members voted 8 to 6 on Friday to deny its application after a lengthy debate on the issue the day before.

Two Republicans joined the Democrats in voting to reject the charters application, including Jay Johnson, who represents the Panhandle, and was defeated by a candidate endorsed by a PAC that had received money from Heritages board chair. The other Republican who voted against, Matt Robinson, is not running for reelection.

On Thursday, board member Aicha Davis, a Democrat from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, questioned Heritages board chair, Stuart D. Saunders, about his $52,500 political contribution to the Freedom Foundation of Texas PAC. That PAC has raised over $600,000 since Jan. 1 and supported state education board candidates who oppose critical race theory, which is a university-level discipline that studies the idea that racism is embedded in legal systems and not limited to individuals. It has become a catch-all phrase for conservatives worried about discussions and lessons about race in public secondary schools.

Two conservative candidates backed by the Freedom Foundation of Texas PAC won their Republican primaries in March: LJ Francis and Aaron Kinsey, who defeated Johnson. The PAC has also supported Will Hickman, Republican member from Houston, who made a last minute plea in support of the charter.

Im voting in favor to provide an opportunity to parents and kids in northwest Houston who want a public classical option that's not currently available, he said.

Last year, the Texas Legislature banned critical race theory in public schools, though the concept wasnt included in the Texas public school curriculum standards.

When we really look into [it], it's an effort to stop diversity and inclusion in our school and you can't stop that because Texas has more Black and brown kids and it's growing every year, Davis said. It's well documented that you are trying to do this politically. Youre trying to affect our kids through schools. Its a hard no for me.

Saunders pointed to the Legislatures decision to ban critical race theory from being taught in schools and said he supports the PACs other initiatives such as strengthening school boards and squeezing out sexually explicit materials from schools.

Robinson, a Republican from Friendswood, questioned Saunders' ethics, saying it seemed that he was trying to remake the board after his charter was denied before.

It speaks to your credibility, Robinson said.

Saunders in response said he wasnt involved in where donations went.

My family and I have a long history of supporting education initiatives and part of our involvement includes a history of supporting public policy and education initiatives, he said.

During the questioning of Heritage Classical Academy, state education board member Georgina Prez, a Democrat from El Paso, also read a Facebook comment of the schools board secretary, Kathryn van der Pol. She posted a comment five years ago about the Washingtons Womens March that said the organizers wanted to impose Sharia, Islamic law, on the United States.

Why would this person with these beliefs be your choice for school leadership? Prez asked.

Saunders told the board that van der Pol told him the comment was being taken out of context and she was actually quoting someone else. Board member Ruben Cortez Jr., a Democrat from Brownsville, said he was not buying it.

Clearly you want to defend your member and that's okay, I understand, but thats very telling to me, Cortez said on Wednesday. You guys have been here every time you've had an opportunity to fix anything that could have seemed just out of bounds for some of us, each time you all come back and it just seems like you'd dig a deeper hole.

Unlike traditional schools, charter schools cannot levy local taxes, and they receive all their funding from the state. Texas has 185 charter school operators that oversee 872 campuses across the state where 377,375 students are enrolled.

The board voted overwhelmingly on Friday to reject the other three charter school proposals for ONE Collegiate Charter School in Houston, Patterns High School of Technology in Del Valle and Spelligent in San Antonio.

Board members questioned the schools leadership and curriculums and said the charter hopefuls did not have plans to take care of children that were not to the boards standards.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath gave a glowing review of each charter school before the board spent the rest of the day Thursday and some of the night debating with the charter leaders and hearing public testimony.

[These are] the charters that we think are fit to have the opportunity to educate eager young minds, Morath said.

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Texas State Board of Education rejects conservative-backed Heritage Classical Academy charter school for third time - The Texas Tribune

On Monday, the House committee investigating Jan. 6 reconvened for its second public hearing with the apparent intention of establishing beyond doubt that former President Donald Trump had no reasonable expectation that his claims of election fraud were true. Indeed, almost everyone around him knew them to be false, and told him as much.

President Donald Trump had no reasonable expectation that his claims of election fraud were true.

One by one, administration officials and Republican election lawyers testified that the supposed irregularities Trump and his allies fixated on werent irregularities at all. The election was not close, as GOP election attorney Ben Ginsberg recalled. States like Michigan and Pennsylvania were not host to measurable election fraud certainly not anything that would change the results in those states. Indeed, former Attorney General Bill Barr found the claims made by Trump loyalists, like those in Dinesh D'Souzas film allegedly uncovering a massive plot to rig the 2020 election, 2,000 Mules, laughable (which is to say, he literally laughed at them during his deposition).

The committee presented a damning fact pattern, which is perhaps why Republicans who are invested in downplaying the events of Jan. 6 did not address that fact pattern. For the most part, Republicans who seek to undermine the salience of the committees proceedings or delegitimize the committee altogether have settled on three avenues of attack. All of which are unconvincing.

Viewers of Mondays hearing were privy to few new revelations about the events leading up to what occurred on the day the 2020 election results were certified. Thats partly because the committee committed itself to re-establishing what it had already alleged during its first hearing on Thursday night. Broadcast to the nation in prime time and capturing the attention of some 20 million viewers, that hearing did provide the public with new insight into how the attack on the Capitol unfolded.

The committees leaders alleged on Thursday night (and subsequently emphasized on Monday) that Trump acted with malice to incite a mob around claims of election fraud he had no reason to believe were true and, indeed, likely knew to be false. They found that organized insurrectionist groups functioned as shock troops ahead of the mob that ransacked the Capitol. The committees members alleged that the president abdicated his constitutional duties to protect the legislature against the founding charters domestic enemies, and they claimed that elected members of Congress sought presidential pardons for their role in the events leading up to the attack.

This brings us to the three avenues of attack. Republicans first objection to Thursday nights proceedings took shape even before the first hearing: The committee was going to be an unserious, glitzy production. We would be forced to witness what Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., demeaned as a Hollywood-paid political advertisement for the Democratic Party. They moved this thing to prime time. They hired a producer to put it on, he said. This is not a fact-finding mission. But at the outset of proceedings, led by the somnolent Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., it became clear that we were not privy to an overproduced spectacle.

At that point, Republicans predisposed to attacking the committee shifted to insisting that this sober, unadorned inquest was too languid for prime time. [I]f the Democrats wanted a flashy, compelling, engaging beginning to the hearing, they are failing miserably, former Trump administration official Mick Mulvaney remarked. But even Mulvaney later conceded that the video presentation of the riots was stunning and powerful. In sum, the hearings interposed prosecutorial dispassion with galvanizing and dramatic visuals. If there was a sweet spot to hit, that was it.

The second Republican objection to these proceedings centered on the notion that this was a one-sided affair. All the lawmakers on the dais, regardless of their partisan affiliations, were of the same mind when it came to what happened on that fateful day. True enough, but thats not because there are no alternative views to express about what happened on Jan. 6. It is because this is what Republicans in Congress wanted.

As the trauma of the days events faded and Republican voters regrouped around the partisan imperative to absolve Trump of blame for any of it, a 2021 Morning Consult survey published about six months after the insurrection found that the rank-and-file GOP had begun convincing themselves of a series of fictions. The poll found that Republican voters increasingly blamed President Joe Biden more for the attack on the Capitol than they did Trump, and that the insurrectionists were not ideologically aligned with the American right. These voters and their representatives in Congress didnt want clarity; they wanted to move on from this episode with their preferred ambiguities intact. That sentiment led Republicans in the legislature to nix what would have been a more judicious, bipartisan inquiry conducted independently of Congress.

Republican voters increasingly blamed President Joe Biden more for the attack on the Capitol than they did Trump.

Republicans knew at the time that the alternative to a blue-ribbon commission of the sort that investigated the 9/11 attacks was a partisan committee that would be established by a simple majority vote of House Democrats. That is, in fact, their desired alternative. The GOPs apparent strategy was to close off every method of independent inquiry so that the one that remained could be denounced as a partisan spectacle. It is, therefore, no surprise that this committee came under attack for its partisan makeup; that was the GOPs preference.

Ah, the GOP will say, but what about the efforts by the Republican minority in the House to appoint pro-Trump Republicans to the committee? Initially, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to appoint two members to the committee Reps. Jim Banks Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio who were summarily rejected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That led McCarthy to pull the rest of the conferences appointees (save conscience-driven members like Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming, despite the fatal blow their participation has or likely will deal to their political careers). This brings us to the GOPs last objection to the committees preceding: Everything it uncovered was previously known.

All. Old. News, insisted the House Judiciary Committee GOP, which Jordan leads. Unless Jordan was secretly deposing Trump administration officials, whose sworn testimony was presented for the first time to the public on June 9, he likely did not know the extent to which Trump was being regularly disabused of the notion that there was significant election fraud or that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was told to cover up the extent to which then-Vice President Mike Pence had simply assumed the powers of the presidency that the president himself had abdicated. And yet, this Clintonian method of dismissing new revelations as somehow dated, marking anyone surprised by them as out-of-touch rubes, is effective. After all, who wants to be thought of as out of the loop?

This tactic has the disadvantage of competing against genuine news. We did not know for certain that, as Cheney said, Donald Trump placed no call to any element of the United States government to instruct that the Capitol be defended, making no order to deploy the National Guard or contact federal law enforcement. We did not know that Republican lawmakers sought pre-emptive presidential pardons for their role in the days violent events. We did not know that Trump said, according to Cheneys direct quotes, that Trump reacted to the chants of hang Mike Pence by saying, Maybe our supporters have the right idea and that Pence deserves it. We did not know the number of occasions in which White House Counsel Pat Cipollone threatened to resign along with his team, which Jared Kushner described as whining.

Republicans cannot argue with the fact pattern the committee presented to the public, so theyre reduced to table-pounding. That behavior resonates only with those on the right who have already convinced themselves this investigation is a witch hunt. That describes the majority of Republicans, to be sure, but not even an overwhelming one, if polling is to be believed, and it applies to no other American partisan affiliation.

Republicans who continue to oppose an inquiry into that horrible day are reduced to shouting down the inquirers. But there is no decibel level they can achieve sufficient to drown out the truth. The facts speak for themselves.

Excerpt from:
Day 2 of the Jan. 6 hearings keep the GOP on the defensive - MSNBC

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A large majority of voters say the economy is in bad shape. Two-thirds are pessimistic about conditions. Gas and grocery prices are a major problem for most families. And a growing number of voters feel they are losing ground financially.

Thats the grim backdrop for the upcoming midterm elections, according to the latest Fox News national survey.

Forty-seven percent feel they are falling behind financially, up 20 points compared to last June. Some 42% are holding steady, while only 10% are getting ahead.

The Personal Finance Poll (Fox News)

Eight-two percent of voters rate the economy negatively, including 57% who describe it as poor -- the highest in a decade.

Condition of Economy Poll (Fox News)

When asked to offer a more general assessment of their economic mood, 65% say they feel pessimistic. Thats an 18-point increase since last year, and up 30 points from four years ago.

Nine in 10 report the cost of food and gas are a problem for their family. That includes majorities who say current grocery (55%) and gas prices (67%) are a "major" problem. For voters in households earning less than $50,000 annually, nearly three-quarters call gas prices a major problem (72%). And by a 50-32% margin, more voters say President Bidens policies are responsible for current gas prices than blame Russian President Putins war with Ukraine.

The Problem for your Family Poll (Fox News)

Overall, 41% say inflation will be most important to their vote for Congress. Thats about four times as many as say guns (12%) and abortion (10%). Next, its border security (7%), followed by climate change and crime (5% each), election integrity and voting rights (4% each), coronavirus (3%), and foreign policy (1%).

MEDIA, DEMOCRATS DOWNPLAYED INFLATION AND GAS PRICES, GOT FORECASTS WRONG: WINNING ECONOMY

The top election issues for Democrats are inflation (27%), guns (20%), and abortion (12%). For Republicans, its mostly about inflation (53%), and to a much lesser degree, border security (12%). Same story among independents, as the largest number say inflation (43%), and far fewer abortion (10%) and guns (10%).

Voters see Democrats as better at handling the issues of climate change (by 15 points), abortion (D+8), voting rights (D+6), election integrity (D+3), and coronavirus (D+3).

Democrats Handle Better Poll (Fox News)

The Republican issue advantages are larger and, importantly, on the top issue. They are preferred on inflation (R+19 points), border security (R+19), crime (R+13), and foreign policy (R+8).

Republicans handle better Poll (Fox News)

It is more evenly divided on preservation of American democracy (R+1), and neither party has an edge on gun policy. In 2018, the last time Fox asked this gun policy question, more voters trusted Democrats to handle the issue by a 3-point margin.

The Republican advantage on inflation comes mainly from a 30-point preference among independents. Some 17% of Democrats also say the GOP is better on the issue. Yet the highest defection among Democrats, 19%, is on border security.

Similar numbers of Republicans trust Democrats more on climate change (18%) and abortion (15%).

About equal numbers of Democrats (44%) and Republicans (47%) say they feel more enthused to vote this year than usual.

"This poll shows that the expected overturning of Roe and the increased focus on gun policy creates some openings for Democratic candidates that may not have been there before," says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, whose firm Beacon Research conducts the Fox News survey with Republican pollster Daron Shaw.

"These issues provide concrete reasons for some voters who are disillusioned by Biden and discouraged by inflation to care about supporting Democratic congressional candidates."

The generic ballot test shows voters prefer the Republican candidate to the Democrat in their House district by 47-44%. That is well within the surveys margin of sampling error. The GOP candidate was up by 7 points in April and by 2 points in March.

Fox News modeling estimates the current GOP 3-point edge would produce a 23-seat gain.

FED RATE HIKE WILL HAVE DEVASTATING IMPACT ON CONSUMERS, FORMER HOME DEPOT CEO WARNS

"In historical terms, if the GOP picks up roughly two dozen seats it would be about average for the out-party in a midterm," says Shaw. "However, 2020 Republican gains in the House and pro-Democratic gerrymandering significantly constrain what is possible in 2022, such that some statistical models estimate a 23-seat swing would be comparable to winning 50+ seats in a normal midterm. In other words, given the context of 2022, a Democratic loss of two dozen seats would be -- to paraphrase former President Obama, a shellacking."

In June 2018, four years ago, President Trumps job rating was negative by 6 points (45-51%), and the generic ballot had Democrats ahead by 9 points (48-39%). The Democrats ultimately gained 41 seats that year.

Bidens current job rating is negative by 14 points: 43% approve and 57% disapprove. Thats his poorest performance to date and a reversal from last June when his ratings were at a record high 56-43% (+13 points, June 2021). Hes at a new low of 80% approval among Democrats, down from a high of 95% in April 2021.

Biden Job Rating ((Fox News))

His ratings on issues are worse. Hes underwater by 48 points on inflation (23% approve, 71% disapprove), by 38 points on the economy generally (29-67%), by 27 points on guns (33-60%), by 23 points on border security (35-58%), and by 10 points on Russias invasion of Ukraine (42-52%).

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Poll-pourri

Seven in 10 think it is important for Congress and the Justice Department to investigate the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including 50% who say its very important. The House Select Committee has been investigating the attack for over a year and had its first televised hearings June 9. The poll finds virtually all Democrats (95%) and most independents (70%) think the probe is important. Among Republicans, 48% say important, 49% not important.

The Jan 6. Importance Poll (Fox News)

Voters are unhappy with Congress, as just 21% approve, while 72% disapprove -- the lowest marks for lawmakers in over two years.

CLICK HERE FOR TOPLINE AND CROSSTABS.

Conducted June 10-13, 2022 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,002 registered voters nationwide who were randomly selected from a national voter file and spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones. The total sample has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Fox News Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

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Fox News Poll: More voters put trust in Republicans to handle inflation, crime - Fox News

Democrats say President Biden needs to stop calling some Republicans rational as he did last month, and instead call out the GOP for holding up key policy issues including gun control.

They say Bidens views on the goodwill of Republicans are antiquated and that it ultimately undermines their partys strategy in an election year.

Biden and Democratic leadership have a fundamentally different mentality about how to win, said Democratic strategist Christy Setzer. They think its about appealing to the middle and showing that were reasonable and can play nicely even with intemperate people.

Maybe thats how you win in a fair fight on the merits, but we havent had that game for a long, long time, Setzer added. Now, they need to show how insane the GOP is as compared to the majority of Americans who want, for example, responsible gun ownership, who want to outright ban AR-15s. Were the only rational ones left.

Speaking to reporters last month about the ongoing gun control talks on Capitol Hill, Biden singled out Republicans, saying they could be helpful in the process.

I consider McConnell a rational Republican. I mean, Cornyn is as well, the president said of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), both of whom he served alongside in the upper chamber. I think theres a recognition on their part that things cant continue like this.

When he went on ABCs Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week, Biden paid yet another compliment to McConnell.

Ive always had a straight relationship with the majority, the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, hes a guy that when he says something, he means it, Biden told Kimmel. I disagree with a lot of what he says, but he means it.

But Democrats are taking issue with that bipartisan strategy.

On the one hand, I get what hes trying to do in that he doesnt want to unnecessarily box Republicans in, said Democratic strategist Jim Manley, who served as a senior aide to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

But the idea that he goes on Jimmy Kimmel and calls McConnell his good friend is infuriating and indicates once again that he doesnt understand how much the Republican Party has changed since he left the Senate, Manley added.

I have no idea whether he believes it or not but Sen. McConnell is no ones friend and the Republican Party has no interest in helping him to legislate.

Manley said Biden should have learned his lesson from the Obama era, when Republicans sought to block the former presidents legislative priorities at every turn.

Whats especially infuriating is as vice president, he had a front row seat to Senate Republicans trying to undermine Obamas presidency, Manley added. Its sheer madness.

Another strategist agreed.

Its not that he wishes we could go back to a better time, or doesnt like calling out Republicans by name versus trying to negotiate, its does he actually believe theyre trying to help him? Because then its a much larger strategic problem, said one Democratic strategist.

This is history repeating itself, the strategist said. Obama thought they could deal, this gave McConnell the power to intentionally delay and kill stuff knowing the blowback would be on Obama who promised to make the place work again.

When Obama finally realized that and whipped out his pen, his numbers shot back up again, the strategist added.

Democrats have grown increasingly frustrated with Biden in recent months, as issues including record-high inflation and soaring gas prices continue to dominate the news cycle with little end in sight.

The Democrats worry that Biden has appearedflat-footedon the issues, including the recent shortage of baby formula, and have urged him to be more proactive.

Polls also indicate that Americans have lost patience with Biden.

An NPR/PBS/Marist College poll out on Thursday showed Biden with the lowest approval rating since the start of his administration at 38 percent. A Quinnipiac University poll which also came out this week revealed that Biden has a 33 percent approval rating.

But some Democrats say Biden needs all the options available to him, even if that means telegraphing his relationship with Republicans, an element that helped catapult him to the White House when he touted his history in the Senate and his long-standing friendships with those across the aisle during his presidential campaign.

Everyone in the political ecosystem has a role and the presidents role is to keep options and pathways open, said Joel Payne, the Democratic strategist. By definition Mitch McConnell needs to be one of those pathways.

That does not mean that others cannot use sharper language or sharper descriptors for McConnell but the president needs to be able to maintain the flexibility to work with Republicans, Payne said.

When he appeared on Kimmels show this week, Biden acknowledged that the Republican Party had changed in recent years.

This is not your fathers Republican Party, he told the late-night host. This is a MAGA party, a very different Republican Party and you find people who are worried, I believe, that if they vote for rational gun policy, theyre gonna be primaried and theyre going to lose in a hard-right Republican Party.

But Democrats say that kind of dialogue isnt enough.

He needs to say, This is who we are, and this is who they are, the strategist said. And I mean completely spell out who they are.

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Democrats: Biden must drop the word rational when talking about Republicans - The Hill