This week’s White House Report Card finds President Biden ready to move forward without Republican support on his $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid, a decision that essentially ends his once-lofty goal of unity on policy.
Our Democratic grader John Zogby said in his weekly podcast that it is the right move. In fact, the national pollster said that Biden should be asking for more to help people, especially those who face long-term unemployment due to virus shutdowns. He called the package “horribly inadequate” and a “Band-Aid.” Zogby also dismissed GOP hand-wringing on running up debt. “Hearts beats charts,” he said, in grading Biden’s week a B.
Our conservative analyst, Jed Babbin, graded the week a D- because Biden was not working with the GOP on the package and also because the president appeared to be caving in to teachers unions on school reopenings. And recalling the media revolt when former President Donald Trump tried to fire some U.S. attorneys, Babbin said that he is awaiting the media outcry after Biden did the same thing this week.
Jed Babbin
Grade: D-
Biden has been busy, taking advantage of the media feeding frenzy over the second Trump impeachment trial to push his agenda when nobody is looking. He has fired all the U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Donald Trump, canceled the Trump agreements with Central American governments aimed at controlling immigration, and sided with teachers who want schools to remain closed and (surprise, surprise) caved in to the teachers unions on reopening schools.
Say whatever you’d like about Biden, but when he’s bought, he stays bought. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers combined to donate $232,000 to his campaign. (The education industry as a whole reportedly donated over $22 million.) Thus, Biden is forgetting his campaign promise and instead siding with the teachers unions on reopening for in-person instruction. His grandiose plan to reopen schools, in addition to paying another $130 billion to public schools in his pending coronavirus stimulus bill, is to have schools open one day a week after Biden’s first 100 days in office.
Healing
Courage
Love
Compassion
Gratitude
Peace
Amor
Strength
Kindness
Family
UnityLove, Jill pic.twitter.com/y5Y6BDGHUT
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) February 12, 2021
Biden’s school reopening “plan,” such as it is, is part of his plan to help the economy reopen. But he insists that it’s a “nonstarter” to reopen before the pandemic is dealt with. Biden’s school plan is a nonstarter for working parents who need to get their children back to school. Most people in the U.S. are waiting (and will continue to wait for weeks or months) for the vaccinations they need. Biden seems oblivious to the distribution problem.
Meanwhile, Biden has been talking about barring Trump from getting the intelligence briefings usually afforded to former presidents. Biden claims Trump is too “erratic” to be trusted with intelligence.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the termination of Trump administration immigration agreements with Central American nations that were reducing the flood of illegal immigration. Caravans of thousands of Central American immigrants (some of whom are bound to be carrying the coronavirus and other diseases) are already trekking north. The illegal immigrants, of course, can enter the country thanks to Biden’s open borders policy. “Catch and release,” by which illegal immigrants are released from custody with orders to show up for immigration hearings (which most don’t do), is back in effect. Meanwhile, Biden has ordered that U.S. citizens may not return from other countries unless they have tested negative for the virus very soon before their return. The double standard is appalling.
Remember when Trump fired the Obama-appointed attorneys and the immediate media meltdown, screaming about autocracy and politicization of the Justice Department? Biden did the same for the Trump-appointed federal prosecutors this week. I’m still waiting for the media feeding frenzy to begin.
John Zogby
Grade: B
Just a reminder this week: Biden is the president, and Trump is not.
Biden stayed true to his strategy of being low-key during the impeachment trial and to suggest that he is waiting for a decision to simply move on. Meanwhile, he seems to have outmaneuvered even Republicans who wanted a smaller stimulus check and coronavirus relief package by siding with his fellow Democrats on using reconciliation as a means to get as close to his full package as possible. Like 1933, people are likely to remember the person who favored early and substantial relief than anyone who stood in the way.
In addition, Biden burnished his foreign policy credentials with President Xi Jinping of China by chiding him on human rights in western China. He also signaled to Middle East allies Israel and Saudi Arabia that he closely watching their behavior and may very well shake up America’s relationship with both regional powers. A good week.
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 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
