Biden will be in 'desperate circumstances' if GOP wins one or both chambers of Congress: Politico chief

Politico founding editor John F. Harris warned on Monday that President Biden will find himself in "desperate circumstances" if Republicans reclaim one or both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections.

During an appearance on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," Harris was asked about former President Obama's return to the podium over the weekend to campaign on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro and Democratic Senate candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. 

Pointing to an extended excerpt from Obama's speech, MSNBC host Nicole Wallace gushed over the former president's stage presence and ability to command the crowd, but Harris said he'd be remised not to point out the "elephant in the room."

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"Listening to President Obama there, the elephant in the room is, he’s so much more commanding, and I would say articulate than the current occupant of the [Oval] Office who has not been able – President Biden has not been able to go out there and make that case so fluently and in many of these districts he’s not even welcomed to come out and make that case," he argued.

Harris said that because Biden is a far less effective communicator than his predecessor, the president will likely struggle to rebuild the Democrat Party's presence and "command the argument" if they are defeated by Republicans on Election Day. 

"If Democrats do lose the House or the Senate or both, that rhetorical ability is actually something that was so important for Bill Clinton in 1995 when he lost Congress, so important for Barack Obama in 2010 after he lost, they were able to rebuild their presence in part because of their skill in framing the public argument," Harris said. "'Republicans you have the power in the Congress, but I have the power of the pulpit. I’m going to win this argument.' You really have to strain to see President Biden, if he finds himself in those circumstances, able to command the argument and frame the issues quite so effectively."

"So," Harris continued, "that means he’s going to be really possibly, in desperate circumstances if, in fact, Republicans do take over one or both houses."

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Former Democratic Senator and MSNBC political analyst Claire McCaskill, who joined Harris in the segment, agreed with Harris' distinction between the two presidents.

"Well, I think it’s very hard to find anybody who has the combined policy chops, intellect and charismatic oratorical skills that Barack Obama has. There is a reason why he went to the top so quickly," she said.

Obama joined other Democrat heavyweights, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail to campaign on behalf of vulnerable Democrats in the run-up to the Nov. 8. The former president has been campaigning hard for Democratic candidates across the country from Arizona to Georgia. Last week alone, he traveled to at least five states to hold rallies and events with Democratic candidates from the U.S. Senate down to state legislatures.

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Comparatively, Biden has kept a relatively light schedule, appearing at only a handful of events in the final days before Tuesday's highly anticipated elections. Biden did join Obama on stage in Philadelphia on Saturday, hoping to energize voters as polls narrow in the crucial U.S. Senate race.