On the eve of U.S. President Joe Biden’s big State of the Union speech tomorrow night, it seems Biden faces a unique problem: Democrats and the American people seem pretty upset with him and his overall performance.
A recent poll makes this pretty clear:
“The public continues to be largely opposed to President Biden seeking reelection, including most Democrats.
Few adults have a great deal of confidence in Biden’s ability to handle various aspects of his job, including managing government spending, accomplishing policy goals, or working effectively with either Congressional Republicans or Democrats.
In January 2022, 48% of Democrats wanted the president to run for a second term, and in October, 52% of them said Biden should run for reelection.
But in the latest poll, support for his reelection among Democrats dropped to 37%.
Overall, just one in five adults want to see him run for president in 2024, a slight decrease from the AP-NORC surveys in October and January 2022. Younger adults are less likely than older ones to favor Biden seeking a second term.”
And from there, it gets even worse:
“About half of adults have hardly any confidence in Biden’s ability to work with Republicans in Congress or effectively manage government spending.
About 40% say the same regarding his ability to reduce the amount of corruption in Washington, accomplish major policy goals, and effectively manage the White House, the military, or a crisis. The public has slightly more confidence in his ability to work with Democrats in Congress.”
This is also pretty epic:
“The public also continues to be largely negative regarding Biden’s handling of major issues, with fewer than half approving of his handling of most major issues. About half of the public approve of his response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has been viewed favorably by most adults since May 2022. Few Republicans approve of his handling of any issue.”
What can Biden do during his State of the Union to turn things around?
Can he try and rewrite the narrative on how Democrats and the American people feel about him?
One thing is pretty clear: if 2024 is Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, Americans might have to decide who they hate the least. And that is pretty awful.
About the Author: Harry J. Kazianis (@Grecianformula) serves as President and CEO of Rogue States Project, a bipartisan national security think tank. He has held senior positions at the Center for the National Interest, the Heritage Foundation, the Potomac Foundation, and many other think tanks and academic institutions focused on defense issues. He served on the Russia task force for U.S. Presidential Candidate Senator Ted Cruz, and in a similar task force in the John Hay Initiative. His ideas have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, CNN, CNBC, and many other outlets across the political spectrum. He holds a graduate degree in International Relations from Harvard University and is the author of The Tao of A2/AD, a study of Chinese military modernization. Kazianis also has a background in defense journalism, having served as Editor-In-Chief at The Diplomat and Executive Editor for the National Interest.
