Just like his cratering poll numbers, President Joe Biden’s pandemic response has no end in sight. People have noticed, and they’re becoming fed up.
According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, Biden’s approval rating for his handling of the pandemic is now underwater, with 47% approving and 49% disapproving. This is a massive drop, as COVID-19 was Biden’s strongest issue and arguably the main reason he was elected at all. In June, 62% approved of Biden’s COVID-19 response, compared to 31% disapproving.
COVID-19 has been the crutch that Biden has been relying on since he became president, as he has tried to include several issues under the umbrella of pandemic response. But he has not said or signaled anything that would indicate the light at the end of the tunnel. With vaccines being readily available, people simply don’t want to live under permanent COVID-19 measures.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, under Biden, has encouraged the continued wearing of masks for not just COVID-19 but for the flu and the common cold. Biden, meanwhile, is still pushing his vaccine mandate for businesses, which wouldn’t even be implemented until January and is now caught up in the courts.
Even if Biden’s vaccine mandate survives the court challenges and goes into place at the start of next year, the Biden administration has signaled that that wouldn’t be the end of the process. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy suggested that the mandate be extended to businesses with fewer than 100 employees, and the CDC has already indicated that it will change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include booster shots.
Biden doesn’t want to lose the pandemic as a political cudgel, but his refusal to accept a return to normalcy is going to cost him it anyway. Aside from a faction of bubble-wrapped liberals, no one wants the “new normal” of the pandemic to continue in perpetuity. As it becomes more clear to people that Biden is drawing this out, their opinions on him will continue to sour.
