Less than a week before the midterm elections, President Joe Biden took to the podium to give one of the most divisive and ugliest speeches I’ve seen given by a sitting president. As Republican candidates surge around the country because voters trust the GOP more on rising crime, the economy, and inflation, Biden shouted angrily at half the country from Washington’s Union Station.

The irony of giving this tone-deaf speech from Union Station is obvious. Union Station is the center of travel in Washington: Bus routes, regional trains to the airport, the Metro, and hundreds of taxis and ride-share vehicles intersect at the station. It would be a great place to tout a big policy win on travel costs. But Biden is directly responsible for a year of crushing fuel prices that have made travel a nightmare for America’s families. In a recent poll, 79% of people traveling for the holidays this year will change their plans to account for inflation.