it is shaping up to a busy week
in politics as Washington and
the nation gear up for midterm
races.
>> Republican candidates are
garnering key endorsements this
week as the primary election
season ramps up.
Meanwhile president Biden will
tap his climate, summons and
honor of Earth day, a move some
hope could boost his slumping
poll numbers.
I am joined by our politics
Monday duo.
Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of
NPR.
Let's dive right in.
Tam, president Biden has been
talking about what his
administration has been doing on
the climate front.
He is up against a tightening
energy market it is trying to
act on that.
On Friday they announced they
will start resuming oil and gas
leases on federal lands.
He took a lot of criticism on
that from environmental groups.
Is this the president going
back on his pledge?
>> The white house would argue
they are constrained by court
rulings and other things that
are out of their hands but this
is not the way the president
would like to be moving forward
on this issue.
But this is not the only way
that they are running up into
challenges.
They also had a big
environmental enchanter that was
part of the build back better
legislation that has completely
installed out.
And they've faced other court
challenges in their efforts to
do this through regulatory
means.
The white house tried to get out
ahead of all of us.
Held a call today with reporters
where they insisted, no, there
are -- many paths to meet
our goals.
>> They say they will still hit
them.
>> They are insistent.
But it almost seems like the
insistence is stronger than the
path.
>> Here is the thing.
If you are a voter who backed
Biden because you wanted someone
to act on the climate crisis but
you really don't like paying
more for gas because of the awr
in Ukraine, are you ok with
this?
>> So, there is a famous
political saying, that you
campaign in poetry and govern in
prose.
The other way to say it now as
you campaign in poetry and you
govern in reality.
And the reality is gas is super
expensive.
And it is not just impacting you
but is affecting the prices of
everything.
Anything that needs to be
transported or any trip you take
on an airplane is an impacted by
this.
It goes to the broader inflation
bashes.
-- Message.
It is not just you are talking
about environmental goals.
It is not just things like
leasing.
But he was at an event, was it,
last week in Iowa, saying this
blended ethanol, which has
higher pollution in the summer
months, that's going to be ok.
We will get a waiver for that.
It should lower gas prices.
Releasing more gas from the
strategic petroleum reserve.
The reality is back in 2020,
being able to do an energy
policy that took us away from
fossil fuels made a whole lot
more sense.
>> Here is where we are right
now in terms of the support.
Looking at a key demographic,
younger voters for whom climate
is a very important issue.
If you take a look at that
graphic, no group has soured
more in his time in office than
Genz and millennials.
60% approval in January 2020 is
down to 40%.
A 20 point drop.
Is it just the economy?
>> I sit in a lot of focus
groups with these voters, and
one woman said -- summed it up
well.
What got me to vote in 2020 had
everything that was trump I was
against.
Ed is hard to get me motivated
when trump's not there.
Also, there are a lot of other
problems.
I'm worried about.
Everybody talks about inflation
and talked about their worries,
just everything from is covid
going to come back, to what is
going on in Ukraine?
So there is a sense of
anxiousness and worry about what
is coming next that is impacting
them.
The other thing that is
important to appreciate about
this group of voters, especially
when you compare them to say the
voters that were with Barack
Obama.
Then younger voters.
They were inspired to vote
because of Obama.
These were voters who were
inspired to vote because of
Donald Trump.
And that is a very different,
trying to bring them back into
the fold is much more difficult.
>> You mentioned we also have is
covid coming back?
It is not different --
what is the white house saying
about this?
>> They in part are saying there
isn't an alternative right now.
There isn't an opponent for the
president or for Democrats to
compare themselves to at this
moment.
That will change, and they are
arguing that even if we have not
achieved our goals, they say,
their policy aims at least are
more aligned with these voters
than what the white house sees
as a public and policies.
We shall see about that, whether
that is enough to motivate
midterm voters because midterm
voters are notoriously fickle
and un motivated except for the
ones that are the hard-core
partisans and tend to be older.
>> Young voters tend not to turn
out.
Speaking of Republicans, I want
to get your takes on a new slate
of endorsements from former
president trump.
Has a lot of people scratching
their heads.
He is jumping into some messy
primaries.
Backing folks like David perdue,
former Georgia senator running
for governor.
Dr oz running in
Pennsylvania.
Adam -- running for senate seat
in Nevada and once in Ohio.
What do you think when you look
at these lists?
>> These are candidates they are
not clearly winning the
primaries by any stretch.
These are in some cases that the
Republican establishment would
not get on board with because
they do not know they are
necessarily winners.
These are people that are very
aligned with trump and his lie
that he won the election.
And that has value and currency
to him.
He also likes people who have a
certain celebrity feel, which is
how you get Dr. Oz and jd Vance,
even know he was supposed trump.
He now supports him and that is
good enough because it is all
about trump, trump, loyalty or
whatever his definition of
loyalty, which is accepting a
lot.
>> To be clear, he does not have
to endorse anyone.
He's choosing.
>> He would like to be in the
conversation.
He is no longer the president of
the United States.
One thing I think is important
to appreciate in places like
Ohio but even in Pennsylvania,
all of the Republican candidates
are telling their -- touting
their support with Donald Trump.
I took a look of all the ads
that have been run since the
beginning of the year, $24
million of Republican aligned
ads, candidates or groups that
support Republican candidates
have mentioned Donald Trump in
their advertising in a positive
way.
Candidates and, I am the pro
trump conservative or we will
build a wall.
Or I'm going to do is Donald
Trump would do xyz.
No matter who wins these
primaries in the states, they
are going to be supported by
Donald Trump.
We are not talking about an
anti-Trump wing in these
primary.
What we're going to look for is
does his primary give enough
juice in a crowded primary to
put somebody over the top?
That is what the president, the
former president wants to see.
I endorsed you, you went from
bottom to the top of the polls.
But it does not tell us a lot
about what, how these folks will
be aligned ideologically or
temperamentally once they get
into congress.
>> If they don't win, it risks
his political currency.
>> There was also that.
Have a feeling we will be
talking about this some more.
>> Always good to see you guys.