This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden abandoned by his base, with 64% of Democrats hoping he doesn’t run for reelection and 94% of younger voters (a group he won by 24 percentage points in 2020) agreeing.
Not only did the economy continue to crater this week, but Biden tripped his way through the Middle East, raising eyebrows in Israel and with Palestinian officials, and giving Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud a friendly fist bump that drew sharp criticism from the president’s allies and friends, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and the Washington Post.
Democratic pollster John Zogby said that the president has hit the bottom. “Miserable week,” he said for this week’s report card, which he graded a “D.”
Zogby highlighted Biden’s terrible polls and the president’s inability to get West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on board his energy, tax, and spending agenda, a colossal failure of leadership that leaves him with little to brag on in the 2022 midterm elections.
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin graded a similar “D-” and ripped the White House call for even more spending. “Team Biden needs a remedial crash course on economics.”
John Zogby
Grade D
A mainly miserable week for President Joe Biden. Terrible numbers. Inflation grew at a 9.1% annualized rate. Wholesale prices grew at a staggering 11.3% rate. His average approval rating is 38%, with just a 33% approval from the New York Times/Siena College poll.
That same poll revealed that 64% of registered Democrats do not want him to run again in 2024, including a stunning 94% of those under 30 — a group Biden won by 24 points in 2020.
He held hopes of salvaging a smaller piece of his Build Back Better package, but once again, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has announced he will not support it.
Finally, presidents are usually able to bypass bad political and/or domestic news by displaying their prowess in foreign affairs. The president is in the Middle East, a region he has visited many times in his career. A strong commitment to Israel’s security degenerated into a public feud over how best to contain Iran’s nuclear capacity. An announcement of $100 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority for healthcare was criticized because it did not include measures to ensure Palestinian autonomy. And the president gets to round out his weekend by visiting the barbaric crown prince in Saudi Arabia.
Bad week. However, the New York Times / Siena College poll did show he would defeat former President Donald Trump in a 2024 matchup, and the Democrats are making gains in the congressional generic matchup for 2022.
Jed Babbin
Grade D-
It was a tragicomic week for Biden. Inflation hit a new high, his wife compared Hispanics to tacos, and a rap star marketed a band of cannabis with him on the label. Biden claimed 92% of Democrats wanted him to run again, and his trip to the Middle East featured several demonstrations of his mental decline and produced nothing else.
Inflation continued to accelerate, hitting 9.1%, which is the highest since 1981. Wholesale prices were up 11.3%, probably the highest level ever measured. And Brian Deese of the White House economic council demanded Congress spend more money on Biden’s plans. Team Biden needs a remedial crash course on economics.
Biden went to handshake the air…AGAIN pic.twitter.com/u135dvIYuj
— MRCTV (@mrctv) July 14, 2022
Rapper Snoop Dogg promoted a brand of cannabis called “Sleepy Joe OG,” with a picture of a befuddled Biden on the label. It also featured the slogan, “Where am I,” and the promise, “You won’t even remember what country you are in.”
First lady Jill Biden spoke at a “Latinx IncluXion” luncheon, disregarding the fact that Hispanic people reportedly hate the term “Latinx.” When she compared the Hispanic community to breakfast tacos, she accelerated the shift of Hispanic voters to Republicans.
The president, talking to reporters in an angry tone, told them that 92% of Democrats want him in 2024. That’s probably true among 92% of White House staffers, but not among any other group.
JILL BIDEN: Hispanics are “as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio.”
She actually said this.pic.twitter.com/P2BUDKhMxm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 12, 2022
Landing in Israel and climbing down the steps of Air Force One, the first thing Biden asked a staffer was, “What am I doing now?” He didn’t have one of those cue cards telling him what to say and where to stand. After giving remarks later, he extended his hand to shake hands with someone, but nobody was there. It was another sad display of Biden’s mental incapacity. He struck out in Saudi Arabia, where he’d gone to beg for more oil to lower U.S. gasoline prices. We could produce far more oil domestically, but Biden continues to pursue his holy grail of forcing us to convert to “green energy” and electric cars by refusing to increase domestic oil production.
Perhaps the worst news for Biden were the New York Times stories arguing that he’s too old to be president. It’s the first non-covert evidence of a “Dump Joe” movement among Democrats.
Stay tuned. For Biden, it’s only going to get worse.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and 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
