Early Monday, The New York Times is reporting that President Joe Biden’s current approval rate is hovering around the 33 percent mark. The New York Post is reporting this same number at 30 percent, and CNN as well as IPSOS are reporting a 36 percent approval rating as of July 7, 2022. Only a handful of U.S presidents have hit rock bottom approval ratings: Harry Truman, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Donald Trump. (NOTE: Trump’s polling numbers are taken from the week of January 15, 2021 – the week after the January 6 incident. Most sources cite his final approval rating but do not offer an average over the four years of his presidency.)
It’s not uncommon for a president to see a drop in approval ratings and a subsequent “flipping” of which party controls the Legislative branch of the federal government. Barack Obama, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton all saw faltering approval numbers in their first terms, and the midterms reflected the dissatisfaction of the American people. However, many feel the policies of the Biden Administration are especially egregious – and Democrats are preparing for a midterm election that could see both the House and Senate flipped red.
A tweet on President Biden’s page is just the latest to draw ire from both Republicans and Democrats.
On Sunday, the account tweeted: “Republicans are doing nothing but obstructing our efforts to crack down on gas-price gouging . . .That’s not right. And that’s why this election is going to be so darn important.” Biden’s tweet accused Republicans of obstructing Dem efforts to lower the price of food, healthcare, and prescription drugs as well.
Former Bush White House staffer and current CNN contributor Scott Jennings criticized the tweet, deeming it “BS.” Jennings cited Biden’s rating as well as an opinion poll that says 88 percent of Americans believe the country is going in the wrong direction.
DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw replied to the tweet: “I thought it was the Putin Price Spike.”
Of course, other issues are affecting Biden’s approval rating. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has just recently signed an executive order that would fight the surge of migrants at the southern U.S. border. Gas prices reached a historic high national average in late May/early June. Grocery prices – if shoppers can find the items they want or need – are up between 15 and 25 percent. In addition, some Americans haven’t forgotten that millions of workers were forced to choose between taking the COVID vaccine or losing employment.
In eighteen months, the Biden Administration has seen crisis after crisis. The exit from Afghanistan, the supply chain debacle, historic inflation – each issue is difficult on its own, but Biden’s White House has encountered each issue in little over one year of heading the federal government.
Fox News published a report based on to-date primary results and polling, referred to as its Power Rankings report. They predict that Republicans will easily take the House of Representatives with 225 seats compared to a projection of 180 seats for Democrats. Fox’ prognosticators believe that even if Democrats win all their “toss-up” races (approximately 30), the party will still see a deficit that will diminish their majority in the House.
Things are a bit tighter in the Senate. There are at least five toss-up races, and the results of those elections will determine who has the majority after November. Only a handful of Senators are up for re-election in both parties. The Republican candidates need only win two of the toss-up elections in order to gain a majority; Democrats would need to win four of those toss-ups just to reach the magic number of 50 – only having Kamala Harris in a vote would give Dems a majority in the Senate after November.
It’s still too early to make predictions on those toss-up elections; the states include Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. However, should the economy continue to flounder, people who vote based on their wallets may go red in November’s midterms.
A poll carried out by The New York Times and Siena College shows that 64 percent of Democratic voters want to see a new presidential candidate in 2024. Some cited they simply wanted a new candidate, while others stated that they weren’t confident in Biden’s policies.
