The perceived Biden administration’s lackluster handling of the collapse of the U.S.-aligned Afghanistan regime is expected by many to have political implications for President Joe Biden and Democrats.
However, don’t expect any of them to be long-lasting implications, according to former George W. Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd.
During an appearance on CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight,” Dowd predicted little impact politically for Democrats.
“I think on whether or not we should have gotten out, it will still be 70%-plus, and I think it will cross Republican, Democrat, and independent,” he said. “That will stay true because I think the American public is exhausted by this. They were sold a bill of goods, as you know from the very beginning under Bush who I worked for, about why we were going in there, and 20 years later we were still in there.”
“So, I think they still want to see us out of here,” Dowd continued. “I think you’ll probably, I mean, not to look at this politically in the midst of this crisis situation in Afghanistan. He will probably drop some because of the pictures and everything they’re seeing on his ability to handle this, but do I think this will be an issue in a potential reelection for him or even in the midterms? Absolutely not.”
“The American public wanted us out of there, and we’re getting out of there actually way later than after the American public wanted us,” he added.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor