President Joe Biden’s trip to huddle with family members of those lost or missing after a condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, presents a political minefield for the White House as the president makes the stop amid a tour to sell his infrastructure proposals.
While even critics give Biden points for his touch as consoler in chief, he will carefully have to navigate the politics of offering solace to survivors, families of the missing, rescuers, and the wider community affected by the construction disaster as he is in the midst of a multistate swing making the case for a bipartisan infrastructure deal and a larger package congressional Democrats hope to send him.
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A fallen building is a powerful symbol of weakened infrastructure and how investment in roads to people should be a priority, according to the Brookings Institution’s Darrell West.
“Collapses such as this make Biden’s point very emphatically that the country has a lot of deferred maintenance and Florida is one example where that caught up with people in a very tragic manner,” said West. “All he needs to do is show empathy for those who are suffering and let the images speak for themselves.”
Biden has “little choice” but to visit Surfside, regardless of the risk, Costas Panagopoulos, Northeastern University political science chairman and politics commentator, told the Washington Examiner. A fallout is unlikely, though, if the right balance is struck, Panagopoulos said.
“It only reinforces the need for infrastructure investment,” he added. “This is a national tragedy, and it is the president’s duty to comfort a saddened nation and to channel the country’s energy in a positive direction.”
Eric Schultz, a top White House spokesman during President Barack Obama’s administration, is confident Biden will “hit the right notes.” And he is warning Republicans hoping to politicize the trip that they do so “at their own peril.”
“We live in such a frenetic media environment that very few news events breakthrough to the American consciousness. The tragedy at Surfside is one of those moments, and nobody is better suited to comfort the grieving, support the first responders, and channel the country’s horror than Joe Biden,” Schultz said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki remained tight-lipped on Wednesday regarding Thursday’s logistics. She simply repeated that “every component” of the visit would be coordinated with local officials.
“There is still an ongoing search-and-rescue effort on the ground, and we want to ensure we’re not doing anything to pull away from those resources,” Psaki said.
Biden has appeared reluctant to politicize the $1.2 trillion bipartisan “hard” infrastructure deal and potential $6 trillion “soft” infrastructure reconciliation measure after equivocating on a veto threat. He was hesitant, for instance, to mention the bipartisan agreement’s $50 billion investment in climate resiliency projects during a Wednesday briefing on wildfires.
“That’s why the bipartisan infrastructure framework investment of about $50 billion in my so-called — anyway, I won’t go into it, but a bill that’s caused a little attention, infrastructure bill, is going to build resilience to extreme weather events like wildfires,” the president said.
Biden is flying to battleground states this week to foster public support for his infrastructure packages as Republicans and liberal Democrats threaten to yank their endorsements over different aspects of the outlines. Stops have so far been scheduled in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Biden upset Republicans last week when he suggested he would not sign the bipartisan infrastructure accord without its reconciliation counterpart. He later softened the tone of his veto threat but has continued to insist that Congress consider them “in tandem.” At the same time, liberal Democrats are concerned the “soft” infrastructure, social welfare provisions, possibly including universal pre-kindergarten and two years free community college, will not be generous enough.
At least 16 people died when the Champlain Towers South condo complex in Surfside, north of Miami, partially collapsed early Thursday morning. As of Wednesday evening, almost 150 residents were still unaccounted for as poor weather threatens to hinder a rescue team working in 12-hour shifts. A firefighter fell 25-feet this week as an international coalition frantically searches the rubble for signs of life.
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A 2018 inspection of the 12-story, 136-unit tower ahead of its 40-year recertification process revealed “major structural damage” to a concrete slab below its pool deck, affecting the parking garage. The structure was erected in 1981.
