This week’s White House report card finds President Joe Biden fresh off a weeklong foreign trip, capped by the NATO summit, happy with a stall in inflation and satisfied that the United States Secret Service came up empty-handed in their “investigation” into cocaine found in the most secure, watched and important house in the nation.
Overseas, Biden embraced the NATO alliance and promised that he’ll be coming back for the next five years, a confident claim about his reelection. His polls suggest some truth in that claim.
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At home, he came up with a new plan to diss the Supreme Court and build up the hopes of 800,000 deadbeat student loan holders that their debt will be covered.
Joe Biden appears to stumble up the stairs as he boards Air Force One. pic.twitter.com/wvVSpuo8no
— Salem News Channel (@WatchSalemNews) July 13, 2023
Democratic pollster John Zogby said the week was a good one for the president and appeared to notice a bounce in his step, though he expressed concern that Biden can’t nudge his approval rating higher. Even so, the president remains tied or nearly tied with his potential foes. He gave Biden a B-minus for the week.
Conservative Jed Babbin graded the week a D-minus and saw the NATO summit and other administration actions as a stumble for the nation. He highlighted more examples of Biden messing up words and appearing confused onstage.
Jed Babbin
Grade: D-
It was a pretty tough week for Old Yeller, as the president is coming to be known in the White House. His performance at the NATO summit was worryingly woeful. Add Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s weak performance in Beijing, the White House cocaine mystery, and a new Biden push to force people into Obamacare, and you have a pretty poor week for any president.
Biden’s apparent declining mental condition is growing much worse. He’s reportedly yelling and screaming at White House staff for the slightest reason or no reason at all. Add to that his NATO performance — skipping the big dinner to go to sleep at his hotel, at one point falling asleep in a meeting, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “Vladimir” — and it’s getting clear Biden is too old to serve as president.
His administration proposed a new rule that will further limit the availability of short-term health insurance, which will force more people into Obamacare. Why? Only because Biden’s relevant staff is opposed to private insurance and wants a single-payer government system like Britain has.
The White House cocaine caper came to an unsatisfying close when the Secret Service terminated its investigation without finding anyone to blame. Law enforcement found no fingerprints or DNA on the dime bag. But the White House is under close surveillance, with cameras and guards in almost every place. By not identifying the culprit, the Secret Service may have done so.
And let’s not forget Yellen’s performance meeting with her Chinese counterpart in Beijing. By our count, she bowed to the man three times. No U.S. official should bow to anyone, far less to an official of one of our most dedicated enemies.
John Zogby
Grade: B-
President Joe Biden had a very positive week. Inflation is now down to an annualized rate of 3%, and a number of economists are suggesting that a recession is not inevitable this year. He had a successful trip to Lithuania and looked resolute among NATO’s leaders. While there are disagreements among world leaders and U.S. public opinion on his announcement to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, the president held firm.
Frankly, I thought he looked very good. While up to 70% of voters do not think he should run again, including about half of Democrats, he was helped this week by the GOP-controlled House barely passing a bill that funds the military but blocks abortion coverage, Pentagon diversity initiatives, and transgender care that deeply divided the chamber.
Further, Biden used a press conference opportunity to condemn Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s efforts to block military promotions as “irresponsible and jeopardizing national security.”
But his approval approval rating is stuck in the low 40s and only tied in horse races against former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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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.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies.
