COVID-19 has been the crutch for President Joe Biden’s approval rating since things started to go south. Now, the bottom has fallen out of the entire Biden presidency.
A CNBC/Change Research poll found that 55% of people now disapprove of Biden’s handling of COVID-19. It is the first time a majority has given Biden a failing grade on the pandemic and is a near reversal from the beginning of his presidency, with CNBC back then finding 62% approved of his COVID-19 response.
Biden had already lost the public on the economy, Afghanistan, crime, and immigration, but COVID-19 was what he was leaning on since he was inaugurated — because COVID-19 was what his campaign was primarily about. But Biden has since admitted that there is no solely federal solution to the virus, a sentiment being echoed by health officials in his administration as cases surge.
But the damage has already been done. Biden promised that he would “shut down” the virus, and he and his administration have raised fear about it at every turn. Now, while Biden finally recognizes that schools must remain open for in-person learning, Democratic-run cities are falling back into virtual schooling despite the widespread availability and proven effectiveness of vaccines. Teachers unions, empowered by the Biden administration’s deference to them, are shutting down schools in cities such as Chicago.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci is even being trotted out to bring down the temperature on COVID-19 panic. Last week, Fauci told MSNBC that the hospitalization numbers for children were overblown because children were going to the hospital for other reasons but testing positive for COVID-19 while there — they were being hospitalized with the coronavirus, not because of the coronavirus.
Some parts of the country are regressing back into coronavirus restrictions despite the fact that vaccines are available and children are not at serious risk from COVID-19. Biden promised to fix everything, and now he can do nothing but watch as the panicked portion of the Democratic base throws cities and schools back into restrictions and shutdowns because it is convinced that case numbers and positive tests are all that matter.
Even when Biden’s approval rating started falling, his handling of COVID-19 was the one bright spot among voters. Now, that goodwill has entirely evaporated as Biden admits that his central campaign promise was a failure. Biden has no answers, no widespread support on any topic, and no chance of hanging on to the White House, whether he runs or not, for the Democratic Party in 2024.
