This week’s White House report card finds President Joe Biden spending his 307th day chillaxing away from the Oval Office, as usual, back home in Delaware, and continuing to dwell on his decision about running for reelection.
There were several signs that he will run again and that he was starting to build out a team to support him and run his campaign. So far, he appears in the clear, but polls of doubting Democrats and liberal pundits continue to voice concerns about his age and health.
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On Friday, his doctors said that Biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest.
Pollster John Zogby said the president’s week should have been considered pretty good, especially as his approval numbers have continued to inch up. But he said that nervous Nellies from the liberal wing of the party calling for younger alternative presidential candidates cast a pall over the week. “Is he on the verge of being challenged and abandoned?” asked Zogby in grading a C.
Conservative grader Jed Babbin dug into issues and called the White House “dysfunctional” in grading a D-.
John Zogby
Grade: C
President Biden’s approval polls continued on the better side of 45%, and his management of the economy is at least growing.
But instead of basking in the glow of positive reviews of his strong State of the Union speech, he remains dogged by liberal commentators and media that want to see a “Candidate X” emerge to prevent him from running for a second term.
Privately there are names being floated, but no real challenger. The good news for the president is that many voters no longer pay any attention to Beltway blathering. (Remember, just last October/November, it was these same Democratic pundits who were throwing in the towel in the face of a “Red Wave.”)
The bad news is that the president will need a solid wall of allies to wage a strong campaign. And he doesn’t need sweat-soaked towels or soiled pants from those who are supposed to be on his side.
Biden changes his mind… no questions before vacation . pic.twitter.com/AhicponWgg
— @amuse (@amuse) March 4, 2023
The world remains a dangerous place, with China and Iran appearing to provide lethal weapons to Russia. Russia is also possibly making gains in Ukraine. And Israel is talking tough about attacking Iran and is involved in the worst clashes in the West Bank in over a decade.
The president’s numbers are passable, but is he on the verge of being challenged and abandoned?
Jed Babbin
Grade: D-
President Biden made a big effort to put the “fun” back into “dysfunctional” this week, joking about two teenagers’ deaths from fentanyl poisoning and telling a Black History Month audience, “I may be a white boy, but I’m not stupid.”
Meanwhile, one week after the Consumer Products Safety Commission floated the idea of banning gas stoves because of their supposed environmental impact, new federal regulations were proposed to limit the burner capacity of those stoves. Biden apparently believes requiring 30 minutes to boil a pot of water for spaghetti constitutes “good government.”
Another weekend vacation in Delaware for Joe Biden.
Biden has spent 306 days — 40% of his presidency — on vacation. pic.twitter.com/ppgttq5Qfw
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 4, 2023
Biden also promised to ban “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines “come hell or high water.” Never mind that neither the Republican House nor the Supreme Court would pass or confirm such bans, but Biden wants to go for them anyway.
To top off the week, Britain, France, and Germany — all signatories to former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear weapons deal with Iran — want to censure Iran for enriching uranium to 84%, six points shy of weapons-grade, but Biden opposes that action. YGBSM.
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John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and managing partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
