CNN, MSNBC tout Supreme Court vacancy as political opportunity for Biden: 'This could be a real jolt'

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Media top headlines January 26

In media news today, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes gets roasted for questioning people who oppose COVID restrictions, The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones deletes a tweet defending vaccine passports, and a CNN political analyst echoes Biden’s statements comparing Republicans to segregationists.

Media analysts on CNN and MSNBC agreed Wednesday that liberal Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement would allow President Biden a chance to make history and appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and restore his embattled administration's tattered image.

Breyer, 83, is retiring, Fox News confirmed Wednesday. A source close to Breyer told Fox News that the justice will step down at the end of the current Supreme Court term early this summer. 

Pundits largely agreed that while a new Biden appointee would not change the ideological makeup of the court, it could serve as a symbolic and historic moment for the president and a much-needed boost to Biden's image. The president has been overwhelmed by crises the past several months, including the fallout over the exit of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and dueling economic crises, all of which have led to his low poll numbers and a number of progressive media distancing themselves from the commander in chief.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER TO RETIRE

FILE PHOTO: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer poses during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo (Reuters)

Biden pledged on the 2020 campaign trail to appoint a Black woman to the bench.

"We talked about the Supreme Court — I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented," he said during a Democratic debate in February 2020.

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If Biden makes good on that promise, CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger said, it could be an opportunity for the president who has "disappointed lots of members of his base."

"He can now say, ‘I am going to fight the good fight, and I am going to get this nominee through and on the bench,’" she said.

CNN senior political analyst Nia-Malika Henderson also suggested that if Biden succeeds in appointing the first female Black Supreme Court justice, it could help voters forget about their "disappointment" in his fizzled out efforts on voting rights and criminal justice reform, as well as how he's handled the distribution of COVID-19 testing.

"Going into the midterm, this could be a real jolt I think to rank and file voters, African-American voters in particular," Henderson said of Biden's Supreme Court opportunity.

FILE - In this April 23, 2021, file photo members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File) (AP)

MSNBC host Chuck Todd similarly said the Supreme Court fight was a badly needed "reset."

"Well, you're in the Biden White House and you need a reset?" Todd asked. "You just got one … Politically speaking, it could not have come at a better moment for this White House and this Democratic Party."

Todd noted that Supreme Court fights carry large political risks but also opportunities to unite a party.

"Just look what it did for Trump and the Republicans in 2016," he said. "The debate over Breyer’s successor is going to give this president and his party a rallying cry at a moment that they badly need something to rally around and at a moment he needs to put some points on the board. If it is an African-American jurist, it may go a long way to improving his standing with African-American voters, who have been disappointed … It may have to do with voting rights." 

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: U.S. President Joe Biden answers questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on January 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Todd told former Obama White House staffer and campaign manager Jim Messina that the Supreme Court fight was a "political elixir" for Democrats.

"For the next month, you're going to be asking the White House about who they're thinking about the Supreme Court," Messina said. "You won’t be talking about timing on Build Back Better, you're not going to be talking about poll ratings … It just comes at a perfect time." 

Todd repeated the pending vacancy couldn't have "come at a better time" for the White House to correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, who noted Biden had suffered a string of difficult headlines on inflation, polling, and Russia tensions.

It's a "historic legacy opportunity" for Biden, she said, and a chance to reconnect with his political base.

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One of the potential nominees frequently mentioned on Wednesday as a likely replacement for Breyer was D.C. Circuit Judge Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Breyer's successor will face a tough battle and will need to be confirmed by an ideologically split 50-50 Senate.