POLITICO Playbook: No BIF bump for Biden

On Nov 14, 2021

A new WaPo-ABC poll out this morning has President JOE BIDEN’s approval rating down to 41%, with 53% of respondents disapproving. That’s troubling for the White House because the poll was conducted Nov. 7-10 — after the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure package (BIF).

— But the numbers for Biden get even worse than that:

63% of respondents said Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little or nothing” so far in his presidency. A full 45% said he’s done “little or nothing” — that’s worse than the numbers for then-Presidents DONALD TRUMP, BARACK OBAMA or BILL CLINTON at comparable points in their presidencies.
Just 31% said he’s kept most of his major campaign promises — also a worse figure than Trump, Obama or Clinton received.
70% rated the economy as “not so good” or “poor.”

— Tsunami warning for Dems:

51% of registered voters said they’d vote for the generic Republican congressional candidate if the elections were today.
That is the highest number ever for Republicans in the 40-year history of this question being asked in this poll — higher than it was ahead of the GOP waves in 2014, 2010 or 1994. Read more from WaPo’s Dan Balz, Scott Clement and Emily Guskin

— But there’s a glimmer of hope for Biden:

63% of respondents support the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
And 58% support “spending about two trillion dollars to address climate change and to create or expand preschool, health care and other social programs.”

Biden will hold a big, splashy BIF-signing ceremony Monday, his first opportunity to begin to turn these numbers around. But despite the bill’s bipartisan support, it looks like it will be an overwhelmingly Democratic affair.

— Several GOP “yes” votes are joining Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL in skipping the White House photo op, according to the WSJ’s Lindsay Wise and Eliza Collins — that includes Reps. ANDREW GARBARINO (R-N.Y.), who’s received a death threat, and DON BACON (R-Neb.). That said, Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) and Rep. TOM REED (R-N.Y.) plan to attend.

Speaking of the Trumpists-vs.-everybody war …

— Trump escalated his hostilities against Republican officials who do not do as he wishes in a statement Saturday night, calling on “good and smart America First Republican patriots to run primary campaigns” against GOP House members who voted for the BIF — as well as those who voted against the BIF but supported holding STEVE BANNON in contempt of Congress. Trump’s statement, which IDs his targeted lawmakers by name

— Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas), fresh off picking a fight with BIG BIRD, turned his sights on Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) on Saturday. Quote-tweeting a two-day-old CNN post that asked “Is there a lane for Liz Cheney in…