This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden having the best week he has had in about a year. His party evaporated the GOP election “red wave,” he kept the Senate, and he held his own overseas. Even better, he ended the week by hosting his granddaughter’s wedding on the South Lawn on Saturday.
For Biden, a week where things don’t go bad is a rare one, so he should take it with a smile.
ALASKA SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI BLOWS PAST TRUMPY CHALLENGER TO TAKE LEAD
Democratic pollster John Zogby gave the president a good grade of B-plus and noted that the entry of former President Donald Trump into the 2024 race is probably a good note. “Trump runs about even against Biden for now. There is already pressure on the president not to run, but last week proved that the decision is his alone to make. For this week, there is a mini-Renaissance for Biden.”
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin conceded that Biden had some high points. But in grading a D, he added, “As usual, the downs outweighed the ups.”
Jed Babbin
Grade D
There were a lot of ups and downs for Biden this week, and as usual, the downs outweighed the ups by a considerable margin.
Biden’s student loan buyout plan was held unconstitutional by a federal court. The decision is entirely solid because it relies on the separation of powers doctrine. That doctrine says that outside the powers the president is given by the Constitution, anything else he does has to be authorized by Congress. The fact is that the student loan buyout isn’t related to anything in the Constitution and isn’t authorized by law. Biden’s Justice Department wants the Supreme Court to rule on the case. The justices can be expected to affirm the lower court.
Biden’s long trip overseas was supposed to showcase his diplomatic skills, such as they are. The best you can say is that it could have been worse. He thanked Colombia for hosting one meeting instead of realizing he was in Cambodia. We’re supposed to be deterring China from attacking Taiwan, but Biden announced he was pulling two squadrons of F-15s out of Japan. He talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping about climate change and such and said we’re not in a new cold war with China, which he characterized as a competitor, not an adversary.
Apparently Vice President Kamala Harris went along on the trip, but who knew? Fortunately, she was kept under wraps to prevent her usual flubs.
And again, gasoline and food prices are up, as are illegal border crossings. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas continues to insist that our border is secure. Who does he think he’s fooling?
The best thing that happened to Biden this week was former President Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s running again.
Biden turns 80 on Sunday. If they both retired, we could avoid a rerun of the 2020 election two years from now. Faint hope.
John Zogby
Grade B+
Biden is basking in the glow of victory this week. He didn’t go to Disney World but got rock star treatment at three Asia summits, asserted the U.S. position, and had a decent chat with Xi. In other words, he got to look like a president of the United States from yesteryear.
Right after the midterm election, the president learned that inflation grew last month at a 7.7% annualized clip — not great news on its own, but better than previous months.
SEE THE LATEST POLITICAL NEWS AND BUZZ FROM WASHINGTON SECRETS
His archnemesis, former President Donald Trump, once again ignored the facts, prosecutors, realities, and warnings from his own party to announce his candidacy for 2024. New polls show Trump beating Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for the GOP nomination, but these are mainly a factor of name recognition and his strong base. But it should be troubling to him that DeSantis is polling in the low-to-mid 30s.
Trump runs about even against Biden for now. There is already pressure on the president not to run, but last week proved that the decision is his alone to make. For this week, there is a mini-Renaissance for Biden.
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 Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies
