President Joe Biden speaks at United Performance Metals in Hamilton, Ohio, May 6, 2022. As the challenges confronting Biden intensify, his predictions of a rosy political future for the Democratic Party are growing bolder. The assessments, delivered in speeches, fundraisers and conversations with friends and allies, seem at odds with a country that he acknowledged this week was “really, really down,” burdened by a pandemic, surging gas prices and spiking inflation. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)