Elected to restore sanity, Biden's in big trouble
This week, the CBS survey showed his approval at just 44 percent. These are the lowest positive ratings of a president at this point in the past 40 years — with the exception of Trump, whose approval ratings one year in were just 37 percent. All the other presidents, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush Sr. and Reagan, had approval ratings between 49 percent and 82 percent one year into the job. Here we look back over the past year to find out why his ratings have sunk so dramatically — what challenges he faced, where he succeeded and where he failed.
Biden declared during his campaign that he would “shut down the virus, not the country.” During the first half of 2021, he seemed to be doing just that. His administration effectively managed the vaccine campaign. Every community center, basketball, and auditorium was converted into an immunization center, and within weeks, tens of millions of people had gotten the jab. As European countries moved sluggishly, the US saw a fast track recovery.
But after that, the wheels came off. Federal policies became confusing, and the arrival of the omicron variant brought total frustration. Frequently changing directives, lack of clarity on quarantine policies, shifting recommendations on masks — all of these eroded public trust in Biden’s handling of Covid. States stepped into the breach and began adopting their own policies, which often differed greatly from each other.
It left a deep impression on voters. In July, 66 percent of CBS survey respondents said Biden was doing good work on Covid. In January, that number had sunk to 49 percent.
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