This week’s White House Report Card finds President Biden finishing a mixed week at Camp David in Maryland.
He hit the campaign trail to brag about the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 spending bill and traveled to Atlanta to meet with those affected by the Asian spa killings, drawing applause for his calls to end violence.
But his administration continues to muff the immigration crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border, drawing criticism from his own party.
Our graders split over Biden’s diplomacy so far, especially in calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a killer. Conservative analyst Jed Babbin, who graded the week a D-, said Biden was right. Democratic pollster John Zogby, who graded a B-, said it sounded “playground tough talk.”
John Zogby
Grade B-
Biden’s polling numbers remain solid, averaging at about 55% approval.
He is still basking in the glow of his major victory on COVID-19 relief, especially as millions of individuals, small businesses, and municipalities are beginning to receive relief checks.
Biden is also focusing on an issue that sadly has become a major theme of his tenure — anti-Asian Pacific discrimination. He and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Atlanta, where they were welcomed for their leadership and empathy in the wake of the spa slayings that killed eight people, including six Asians. In the wake of a terrible tragedy, this president is viewed as a credible leader and comforter. Now, people are talking about an issue that has been with us for many decades but has always been ignored.
On the flip side, Biden received some pretty bad advice by publicly calling out Putin as a ‘killer.’ In this case, the shoe fits, but the need for diplomacy and global solutions necessitates diplomacy, not playground tough talk.
Jed Babbin
Grade D-
It was another dismal week for Biden thanks to the continuing flood of illegal immigrants coming in, his plans for a big tax hike, and some hilarious missteps on foreign policy. And then, there is global climate czar John Kerry.
Kerry, the former secretary of state, was photographed aboard an American Airlines flight while not wearing a face mask. Biden had mandated that everyone flying commercially had to wear masks for the entire flight, but Kerry doesn’t follow the rules meant for others. It’s hard work to be a hypocritical elitist like Kerry. Meanwhile, Biden referred to Kamala Harris as “President Harris” — and not for the first time. The butter is slipping off Ol’ Joe’s noodles, more every day.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki mistakenly referred to the border crisis as a border crisis but then quickly walked back from that remark. Biden is doing precisely nothing to stop or even slow the wave of illegal migrants gaining entry into the United States. Meanwhile, the House passed a bill to make citizens out of about 12 million illegal immigrants already here. That was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation for more to keep coming in, and they are by the thousands. Few, if any, are being tested for coronavirus infection, and all (except for some unaccompanied children who are held in containers, not cages) are being released into the U.S.
Ford announced that its planned $900 million investment in an Ohio production plant (and all the new jobs it would have created) were being moved to Mexico. Twenty-one states sued to overturn Biden’s revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline permits, which killed tens of thousands of jobs.
.@JoeBiden on Friday fell while walking up the stairs of Air Force One.
The Democrat, who at 78 became the oldest president to assume the presidency, was caught on video tripping on the elevated staircase and catching himself ahead of a flight to Georgia.https://t.co/t5kJPMlfJ2
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 20, 2021
Biden reportedly is planning to repeal the Trump tax cuts and tax everyone making more than $400,000 more heavily. Repealing the Trump tax cuts would raise taxes on the middle class, meaning that Biden’s promise to not tax anyone making less than $400,000 per year is a sham.
Biden correctly called Putin a “killer,” which caused the Russians to recall their ambassador for a while in protest. Meanwhile, in the first big meeting with Chinese officials, the Chinese blasted Secretary of State Tony Blinken out of his chair with some hot rhetoric for which Blinken was unprepared. While this was going on, the North Koreans ignored Biden’s overtures for talks.
Meanwhile, federal troops remain guarding the Capitol. Nothing says “democracy” like fences, razor wire, and troops.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @TheJohnZogby
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 @jedbabbi
