Less than a year into his presidency, Joe Biden signed into law one of his top domestic priorities, a bipartisan infrastructure package. Almost immediately, cynics predicted that the legislation’s Republican opponents, after condemning the effort as Big Government “socialism,” would be only too pleased to take credit for the investments that reached their states and districts.
To the surprise of no one, the cynics were correct, and more than a few GOP members have spent years touting infrastructure spending they voted against.
As it turns out, however, the problem isn’t limited to Capitol Hill. The New York Times reported:
In southern Connecticut, the federal government is replacing a 118-year-old bridge along America’s busiest rail corridor. The $1.3 billion project was largely funded by the 2021 infrastructure law that was championed by then-President Joseph R. Biden Jr. — and strenuously opposed by Donald J. Trump. These days, however, motorists cruising by the construction site might be forgiven for thinking that a certain famous New York developer was responsible for it all.
“PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP” the sign by the road declares. “REBUILDING AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE.”
Four years ago, the then-former president, desperate to deny his successor a political victory following his own failure on the issue, called the bipartisan infrastructure bill “a loser” for the country and predicted a voter backlash against any Republicans who dared to support it. (The package’s GOP proponents ignored the rhetoric and faced no electoral pushback.)
Nevertheless, in recent months, the Times noted that signs bearing the incumbent president’s name “now adorn bridge projects in Connecticut and Maryland; rail-yard improvement projects in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia; and the replacement of a tunnel on Amtrak’s route between Baltimore and Washington.”
In each instance, funding for the projects was made possible by the bill Trump tried to derail in 2021.
I guess Biden’s accomplishment wasn’t a “loser” after all.
This keeps happening. Last year, amid evidence of a strong U.S. economy, Trump demanded that the credit go to him, rather than Biden, despite the fact the Republican wasn’t in office.
After he returned to the White House, Trump and his team started taking credit for domestic investments that were made while Biden was still president. Trump also claimed credit for reductions in illegal border crossings that happened before his second inaugural.
On a nearly daily basis, the Republican incumbent condemns his Democratic predecessor as the worst president in history. But if that were true, why does Trump keep seeking credit for Biden’s work?
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
