Joe Biden might someday look back fondly on the first two years of his presidency as a carefree ride in his beloved convertible Corvette. Because the next two could be more painful. His party’s potential loss of the U.S. House of Representatives in Tuesday’s midterm elections would mean both personal and professional turmoil. It likely means a hostile legislature that blocks his legislative agenda and investigates his son, his family businesses, his administration officials, the FBI, even Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Here’s the most surprising part, however: Biden may be celebrating. That’s because an unusual thing happened on the way to Democrats’ widely anticipated drubbing: It didn’t quite happen. “Definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham lamented on NBC. The incumbent president’s party appeared to lose its razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives while remaining unexpectedly competitive.
It defied historical trends in the process. This was not the type of midterm pounding habitually administered to incumbent presidents from Lyndon Johnson, to Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.