Ex-Biden chief of staff: President is 'out there too much talking about bridges'

Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Tuesday reportedly bemoaned that President Biden is spending too much time talking about infrastructure projects like bridges as Americans deal with rising costs.

“I think the president is out there too much talking about bridges,” Klain said in comments reported by Politico, which obtained audio of his comments at an event hosted by Democracy: A Journal of Ideas.

“He does two or three events a week where he’s cutting a ribbon on a bridge. And here’s a bridge,” Klain said. “Like I tell you, if you go into the grocery store, you go to the grocery store and, you know, eggs and milk are expensive, the fact that there’s a f‑‑‑ing bridge is not [inaudible].”

Klain, who served as Biden's chief of staff for two years before leaving in February 2023, acknowledged it was a “positive thing” that Biden’s administration had signed legislation investing significantly in infrastructure projects, but he called it a “fool’s errand” for the president to spend so much time highlighting it.

“I think that [it] also doesn’t get covered that much because, look, it’s a f‑‑‑ing bridge. Like it’s a bridge, and how interesting is the bridge?” Klain said, according to Politico. "It’s a little interesting, but it’s not a lot interesting.”

In subsequent comments to Politico, Klain praised the White House’s achievements, which include passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, which reduced health care costs and invested in climate friendly policies. But he reiterated the need for Biden to contrast his agenda with former President Trump and Republicans.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates argued there was no daylight between Klain and the administration.

“Like Ron says, President Biden is crisscrossing the country building on his State of the Union message, highlighting that he is fighting to grow the middle class and lower costs like prescription drugs while blocking the trickle-down agenda Republican officials have proposed on behalf of rich special interests, including Medicare cuts and tax giveaways to big corporations,” Bates said in a statement to The Hill. “The President repeated that message in his Univision interview yesterday and will not let up.”

Biden has spent the month since he delivered his State of the Union address traveling to every battleground state to tout his agenda, including stops that were not focused on infrastructure. An event in Arizona focused on investments through the CHIPS and Science Act, a North Carolina event contrasted his health care agenda with Trump’s calls for terminating the Affordable Care Act, and Biden visited Wisconsin on Monday to highlight efforts to forgive student loan debt.

Rising costs have continued to be a source of frustration for the public, however. 

The consumer price index, a popular measure of inflation, rose 0.4 percent in March and 3.5 percent annually, according to Labor Department data released Wednesday.

Biden in a statement said fighting inflation “remains my top economic priority.”

“But we have more to do: my agenda is lowering costs for prescription drugs, health care, student debt, and hidden junk fees,” he said. “Rather than proposing solutions for hardworking families, Congressional Republicans want to slash taxes for billionaires and big corporations, while helping special interests and Big Pharma raise prices. I won’t let them.”