Political observers in Pinellas and Hillsborough County weighed in Thursday on President Joe Biden’s performance to date as the nation observed his 100th day in office.

In his first address to Congress on Wednesday, the president unveiled his $1.8 trillion American Family Plan. That comes after Congress already passed his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, while his infrastructure proposal that he introduced last month has a price tag of $2.3 trillion.

“That is astronomical,” said Hillsborough County Republican Party Chair Jim Waurishuk. “We’ve never, ever gone in that direction that we’re in. That equates to about $45,000 in taxes per family. And that’s not even including all the other taxes that we pay.”

Other Republicans agree. In a video release issued after Biden’s speech, Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott said, “Over the last 100 days, Biden has focused on pushing a radical agenda to appease the far-left members of his party.”

Democrats disagree. They say they see a man who is dedicated to putting working families and the middle class ahead of everyone else right now.

“I didn’t see his plan as radical at all. I saw it as being pretty moderate compared to what happened in the last four years when immigrants were demonized and taxes were cut for the richest Americans,” Pinellas Democratic Party Chair Lucinda Johnston said of Biden’s speech on Wednesday night. “I saw it as Joe Biden trying just to move over a little more to the left because we had gone so far right.”

Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott said, “Over the last 100 days, Biden has focused on pushing a radical agenda to appease the far-left members of his party.” (File image)

Biden’s approval ratings are at 53 percent after his first 100 days, according to a summary of public opinion polls conducted by Real Clear Politics.There’s been considerable commentary over the fact that while that’s higher than Donald Trump was after 100 days (or ever during his four years in office), it’s the lowest level of support for a newly elected president since the early 1950s when Dwight D. Eisenhower first took office, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Johnston attributes that statistic to the increased political divide in the nation, and is optimistic that it might level out after the country gets used to Biden being in control.

“There is kind of a war right now between many Republicans and many Democrats,” she says. “I think that if people just stop, take a breath, try not to be quite so partisan but look more at the issues, I think that’s going to be helpful.”

Waurishuk says that there’s one reason why the country is so divided right now. It’s because he believes the Democrats have gone way too far to the left.

“If anybody wants to argue that they’re not, then they’re not just being truthful with themselves because they’re even coming and claiming ‘yeah, we’re going further left and that the way it’s going’ and that’s what’s really creating the divide,” he says. “It’s not that the two parties are further apart.”

Several members of Florida’s Democratic Congressional delegation participated in a Zoom conference call on Thursday, extolling the virtues of their party leader.

“Last night and over the course of the last 100 days, we have witnessed a new day in America,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz proclaimed. “President Biden has restored a sense of optimism and confidence.”

With the Senate evenly divided, Biden can’t afford any defections within his own party, but he appears to already have some problems coming from both the right and left of his own party.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz proclaimed. “President Biden has restored a sense of optimism and confidence.” (AP Photo)

Take the series of tax increases he’s proposing to pay for his $1.8 trillion American Family Plan. The president aims to raise the top income-tax rate to 39.6% from 37%, while raising the capital gains rate to 43.4% from 23.8% for households making more than $1 million.

“Right now it seems like a rather high rate to me,” New Jersey Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez told the Wall Street Journal. 

Also as part of his American Families Plan, Biden announced Wednesday night that he plans to fund free community college. That's more modest than during the campaign, when he promised to eliminate at least $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers under below specific financial levels.

In a statement released after the speech, the group NextGen America which was founded to get more young people to vote, praised the president’s speech, but added that “the president should take immediate action to cancel at least $50,000 per borrower in student loan debt.”