President Joe Biden headed to Europe Friday with meetings with several world leaders ahead of him, but he did so with "a major whiff" behind him in the states.
ABC political director Rick Klein appeared on the WOR 710AM Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program to dissect the President's failure to get a vote in the House on his signature infrastructure deal before heading to Italy.
"This is a major whiff by Biden. They tried to suggest that they had the votes, that it all was going to happen. (House Speaker) Pelosi even said don't embarrass the President. Biden said, 'My presidency is on the line', and still they couldn't get it done," Klein said.
There is still a chance that progressives decide to back the scaled-down version of the bill, but no timeline for that scenario yet.
House moderates have been accused of dragging their feet to get behind the bill, but Klein placed the blame squarely on House progressives this time.
"This was a bluff, and it got called by the progressives. They were hoping that the momentum would carry over, that Biden plus Pelosi would mean, hey, this thing is leaving the station, let's get on board," Klein said
Biden, who is Catholic, met with Pope Francis at The Vatican on Friday morning. He will then meet with French President Emanuel Macron before heading to Scotland for next week's global climate summit.
Klein also touched upon how next Tuesday's Election Day results, particularly the races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, are now seen as a litmus test for where people stand on Biden's presidency.
"The election is next week, and New Jersey and Virginia might be a big slap back to Democrats across the country, and they recognize the urgency," Klein said.
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