Joe Biden’s Approval Rating Continues to Plummet as Trump Rises

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

The approval of President Joe Biden continues to plummet, mainly due to the economic crisis. According to a study published by the Washington Post—ABC News, only 36% of those surveyed indicated that they approved Biden, the lowest number since he began his term on January 20, 2021.

However, this is not the only cause for concern in the current administration since the preliminary electoral preferences, with a view to the 2024 elections, show an increase in popular support for the Republican Donald Trump, who, despite his legal problems, continues to emerge as a possible candidate.

Although Trump is experiencing a resurgence, Biden is also afraid of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, nephew of President John F. Kennedy, who could threaten the re-election plans of the current US president and already has more than 21 points. The irruption of the candidacy of Kennedy Jr has destabilised the Democratic Party. He has also been critical of the so-called Deep State. Just as significantly, the Kennedy surname weighs heavily in American politics and the general population.

Based on the survey, the age of the current US president is also a point of contention, with 68% of respondents indicating that he is too old for a second term. If he retains the US presidency in 2024, Biden will finish the end of his second term at the age of 85.

There are also many indications that he no longer does anything or has the capacity. At that age, it is obviously best for him to retire and allow a new generation not raised during the Cold War to come to the fore. However, the Democrats do not let him retire because most US presidents are usually re-elected for a second term.

Another factor behind Biden’s low approval rating is the actions against former US President Donald Trump, who has already made history as the first ex-president to face charges against him. Despite the legal controversy facing the billionaire tycoon, which has had a boomerang effect on the Republicans, he is one of the two profiles with the potential to unseat the Democratic Party.

A question about voter preferences for the upcoming election showed that 44% would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Trump, a more robust result than the 38% of those who said they would do the same for Biden. Taking Trump’s candidacy as a scenario, the participants valued their physical health and mental acuity more highly. For them, in his time, the former president handled economic affairs better than Biden does now.

Meanwhile, Fox News host Sean Hannity reacted to the allegations that the CIA helped gather signatures for the infamous Hunter Biden laptop intel letter and got Joe Biden elected as president.

“It appears that the CIA was framing pro-Biden election disinformation to its former agents in order to fast track a letter discrediting the New York Post’s very real reporting about the very real Hunter Biden laptop from hell. Now, the question is, well, why now? That should be obvious, to give Joe Biden a lying talking point prior to a presidential debate later that week. Needless to say, the CIA is not supposed to interfere in US elections,” Hannity said on May 9.

Despite this major bombshell, most polled Americans said Trump should face criminal charges for his supposed efforts to overturn the 2020 election. If proven that the CIA projected Biden to power, it would vindicate his efforts to try and prevent Biden from entering the White House.

If elections were held now, Biden would trail the two leading Republican candidates and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Neither of the two candidates exceeded 45% in the poll, with many voters saying they were undecided or naming a different candidate. In a hypothetical Biden-Trump showdown, 44% of respondents said they would definitely or probably vote for Trump, and 38% for Biden, while in a Biden-DeSantis matchup, 42% said they would definitely or probably vote for DeSantis, and 37% for Biden.

The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 2024, and there are indications for now that the Republicans will prevail over the Democrats. However, the current situation can change, especially as all the candidates are yet to be officially announced.

Biden has been an unprecedented disaster for the US, with banks collapsing and decision-makers in Washington trying to break a deadlock over raising the $31.4 trillion US debt limit. This is especially crucial as a lengthy default could send the American economy into a deep recession with soaring unemployment and thus also destabilise the global financial system built on US bonds.

For her part, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on May 8 that a failure to raise the debt limit would hurt the US economy and weaken the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. 

These economic issues, coupled with the US unrelentingly wasting billions of dollars in Ukraine, has brought the Republican party back to the fore, especially as Trump has announced his confidence in finding a peaceful resolution between Moscow and Kiev, and restoring the American economy.

Source: InfoBrics