Although Biden has made many “right” moves, his approval ratings aren’t moving up— and might be getting worse
Up until a month ago, Biden was mostly worried about inflation and his Build Back Better reform legislation that is now stalled in the Senate. His approval ratings justified his worries.
The past month, however, has been very different for the president. He found himself coordinating tough sanctions on Russia, including banning it from the SWIFT system, blocking its banks, and freezing its assets. His administration also provided Ukraine with $14 billion of aid, and agreed to welcome 100,000 refugees. Biden was able to bring the NATO alliance back to life, and he also imposed sanctions on Russia oil. This last action pushed the “price at the pump” in Washington to about $4.50 per gallon, which sparked a heated debate.
For many presidents, a major foreign affair crisis also brings with it an opportunity to show leadership, unite the nation, and improve approval ratings by demonstrating wartime leadership. However, one month into the war, and although Biden has made many “right” moves, his approval ratings aren’t moving up — and might be getting worse. Why would that be?
“Biden’s approval ratings dropped precipitously after Afghanistan and have not risen, even though there seems to be support for the way he is handling the Ukraine situation,” says Tevi Troy, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former aide in the George W. Bush White House. “The reason is that in current American politics, it’s easy for the bloom to come off the rose, for a politician to suffer a big drop in approval ratings due to external events. However, bringing approval ratings back up from a low level seems to be something that is harder to do today than in years past.”
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