OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A noted historian has not only given Joe Biden bad grades for his presidency thus far, but he believes that the current commander-in-chief is set to become the “worst” Executive Branch leader in the history of the nation.
Ronald Reagan biographer Craig Shirley made his remarks about the current commander-in-chief in response to a new survey of “scholars” who ranked Biden ahead of the Gipper as the 14th “greatest president” in the country’s history.
“It made me gag,” Shirley said, describing the “Presidential Greatness Project” experts as left-wing academics.
“Joe Biden is a terrible, terrible person. He is going to go down in history by honest historians as the worst president in American history,” he told the Washington Examiner.
Shirley, who recently unveiled his latest book, “The Search for Reagan,” and is launching a biography of former President Donald Trump, didn’t pause his remarks there.
“The idea that Joe Biden is a great president is just nonsense. It’s poppycock. It’s ridiculous. Name one thing that he’s been successful at other than spending money, and, by the way, any moron can spend money,” he told the outlet.
The Examiner noted further:
The survey was of members of the American Political Science Association who specialize in national and presidential politics. Presidents were ranked on a 0-100 scale.
The top five were not surprising for the liberal scholars. In order, they were Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson.
The next five were more controversial: Harry Truman at No. 6, followed by Barack Obama, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, and John F. Kennedy. Reagan was 16th and Trump dead last at No. 45.
The placement of Trump and Reagan on the ‘scholarly’ list also irked Shirley.
“Personally, their worlds apart. They’re different. They’re different men, but that’s just how they approach politics and life and culture and society,” Shirley said, noting the difference in the country between today and the early 1980s.
Nevertheless, he added: “The parallels are clear, more clear than I think people realize. One is that they both challenge authority. They both challenge the Washington establishment.”
Meanwhile, Republican leaders are planning a series of legislative moves aimed at undercutting Biden ahead of the 2024 election they feel are necessary to keep the spotlight on him.
The moves come as a sort of ‘plan B’ option after GOP leaders have come to the conclusion that they likely do not have the votes to impeach the president despite his refusal to effectively enforce immigration and border security laws as well as claims of past family corruption, Politico reports.
“Republicans are determined not to give up on a push that’s still a high priority for the GOP base — especially since abandoning it altogether could alienate conservatives they need to turn out in November,” the outlet noted. “So they’re exploring backup options to keep the spotlight on … allegations that Biden misused the public offices he’s held to benefit his family’s businesses.”
Those alternative plans include legislative reforms such as stricter financial disclosure requirements and implementing guardrails for foreign lobbying. Additionally, they entail making criminal referrals to the Justice Department for Hunter Biden and others. There’s also potential consideration for a lawsuit to compel testimony from DOJ officials. Some within the GOP conference have argued for continuing the investigation, potentially pushing it closer to Election Day, Politico reports, adding:
Any of those off-ramps come with risks of their own — namely that they require cooperation from the Senate or the Justice Department — but, the current GOP thinking goes, Republicans would at least have something to show to their anti-Biden voters with their thin majority on the line.
Asked if he would mind the inquiry ending without an impeachment vote, Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) instead said that his “No. 1 priority” has long been “to get the truth to the American people … and pass influence-peddling legislation.”
“I feel like we’re on track to do what my objective was. Now, if we impeach, then we impeach — and you know how I would vote on that — but that’s not up to me,” Comer told the outlet in a short interview.
